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Fort Wayne Orthopaedic Company Receives Technology Funding
Posted: May 01st, 2007
FORT WAYNE, IN — Schwartz Biomedical subsidiary, BioPoly RS LLC, has been awarded $2MM from Indiana’s 21st Century Fund to develop a new orthopaedic implant, called BioPoly™ RS (ReSurfacing), which will be used to replace only the damaged portion of a joint (i.e. knee, hip, shoulder, phalanges, etc…) as opposed to the entire joint. Patients receiving this new implant will not have to put up with chronic pain that many arthritis sufferers endure while they wait for their joint to deteriorate to the point where they are total joint replacement candidates.
According to Herb Schwartz Ph.D., President and CEO of Schwartz Biomedical LLC and BioPoly RS LLC, the grant will enable Schwartz Biomedical to complete its preclinical research and product development work, as well as the FDA submission which will allow the product to be sold as a medical device. “Our timeline is aggressive,” according to Schwartz, “Product development should be complete within the next 2-3 years with the first implant ready for market launch in 2009.” In order to accomplish this goal, Janine Campbell Ph.D., a Principal Scientist who specializes in chemistry, has joined the Schwartz Biomedical team and will provide her expertise toward the commercialization of this technology.
Schwartz Biomedical has partnered with Colorado State University and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center to complete the development and commercialization of the BioPoly™ RS implant technology.
The BioPoly™ RS material platform is a hydrophilic polymer which has mechanical and biochemical properties similar to that of native articular cartilage so that the implant can interface and articulate with normal joint tissue. Therefore, if the patient has a focal cartilage defect, the surgeon will have a viable option of replacing, or partially resurfacing, only the damaged tissue with the BioPoly™ RS implant such that the implant will physiologically share the biomechanical loads.
In 2004, Schwartz Biomedical received its first grant, totaling $1.27 million, from the state's 21st Century Research to commercialize a new total joint material. In 2005, one of Schwartz Biomedical’s subsidiary companies (BioDuct LLC) received $1.35 million in investment capital to complete product development work for a tissue regeneration technology for the knee.
About Schwartz Biomedical
Schwartz Biomedical is a tissue engineering company located in the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. With its engineers and scientists, the company innovates and develops novel tissue engineering solutions for orthopaedic problems. Web site: www.schwartzbiomedical.com
Prior to founding his own company, Dr. Schwartz was employed by one of the major orthopaedic manufacturers of Warsaw, Indiana in their Orthobiologics (tissue engineering) Department. While there, Dr. Schwartz established himself as a prolific innovator and has generated more than 30 U.S. patents (issued or pending) in the field of orthopaedics and tissue engineering. He received his Ph.D. and MS in Biomechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
source: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=20338
Fort Wayne Company to Expand Joint Replacement Research
Posted: May 01st, 2007
Fort Wayne, IN — Schwartz Biomedical, LLC has received a $1.3M, 2-year grant from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to investigate a novel bearing material for use in human total joint replacements.
Dr. Herb Schwartz announced the grant, “Our technology combines biologics with traditional orthopaedics in a unique way. This self-lubricating material, called BioPoly™, could change the face of orthopaedics in the very near future by allowing total joints to last longer, thus increasing their potential for use in younger and younger patients. We are very gratified to have received the 21st Century Research and Technology grant from the State of Indiana to fund the commercialization of this product.”
The promised benefit to joint replacement recipients is a major extension to the useful life of implants. Most of today’s replacement joints use a totally artificial bearing material to allow the joint’s components to slide on each other throughout their range of motion. Unlike the naturally-occurring lubricating tissue that can last a lifetime in healthy human joints, these artificial bearing materials deteriorate, causing wear that can reduce useful joint life by years. The innovative insight being investigated by Schwartz Biomedical is the biological enhancement of traditional bearing materials with the same naturally-occurring lubricants found in healthy human joints. Initial tests already indicate a 50% reduction in wear with the new biologically enhanced lubrication material.
Because of today’s active life style, total joint replacements are needed in younger and younger patients; however, doctors are reluctant to perform joint replacement surgeries on these younger patients due to the limited life of the bearing materials. This new technology could provide these patients with a longer lasting alternative. For our aging population — living longer, more active lives now than ever before — this new technology holds the hope of replacement joints that will last as long as they do.
Schwartz Biomedical has been named principal investigator to research, develop, commercialize and market this new self-lubricating bearing material. Project partners include Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) who is licensing the technology to Schwartz and participating in the basic research, a major orthopaedic device company in Warsaw, IN, who is involved in the research and development activities and may be interested in commercial production and distribution of the product, and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (Fort Wayne, IN), who supports Schwartz Biomedical with laboratory facilities and business incubation services.
For more information about this breakthrough study in engineered tissue development, contact Dr. Herb Schwartz, 260-407-6468 or herb@schwartzbiomedical.com.
About Schwartz Biomedical
Schwartz Biomedical, LLC, is a tissue engineering company that generates and develops novel tissue engineering solutions to orthopaedic and oral/maxillofacial problems. Dr. Herb Schwartz is founder, president and CEO of Schwartz Biomedical. Prior to founding his own company, Dr. Schwartz was employed by DePuy Orthopaedics in their Orthobiologics (soft tissue engineering) Department. During his tenure with DePuy, Dr Schwartz established himself as a prolific innovator by generating more than 25 U.S. patents (issued or pending) in the field of orthopaedics and tissue engineering. He received his Ph.D. and MS in Biomechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
About Colorado State University (CSU)
Founded as the Colorado Agricultural College in 1870, Colorado State University (CSU) is a land-grant institution and a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive. Dr Sue James is the Director of the Biomedical Engineering Program, Director of Rocky Mountain Materials Research (RMMR) and co-Director of the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Research Laboratory at CSU. Dr. James is also the developer of the chemical enhancement technology that is being licensed by Schwartz Biomedical for theses studies. She received her Ph.D. in polymers from MIT in 1993 and her B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science (with a minor in Biomedical Engineering) from Carnegie Mellon in 1989.
About The Innovation Center
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a regional technology business incubator whose mission is to accelerate the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services. The Innovation Center’s main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the incubation program financially viable and freestanding, ready to bring new jobs and investment to Northeast Indiana.
source: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=14313
Fort Wayne Company to Expand Joint Replacement Research
Posted: May 01st, 2007
Schwartz Biomedical, LLC has received a $1.3M grant
Schwartz Biomedical, LLC has received a $1.3M, 2-year grant from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to investigate a novel bearing material for use in human total joint replacements.
Dr. Herb Schwartz announced the grant, “Our technology combines biologics with traditional orthopaedics in a unique way. This self-lubricating material, called BioPoly™, could change the face of orthopaedics in the very near future by allowing total joints to last longer, thus increasing their potential for use in younger and younger patients. We are very gratified to have received the 21st Century Research and Technology grant from the State of Indiana to fund the commercialization of this product.”
The promised benefit to joint replacement recipients is a major extension to the useful life of implants. Most of today’s replacement joints use a totally artificial bearing material to allow the joint’s components to slide on each other throughout their range of motion. Unlike the naturally-occurring lubricating tissue that can last a lifetime in healthy human joints, these artificial bearing materials deteriorate, causing wear that can reduce useful joint life by years. The innovative insight being investigated by Schwartz Biomedical is the biological enhancement of traditional bearing materials with the same naturally-occurring lubricants found in healthy human joints. Initial tests already indicate a 50% reduction in wear with the new biologically enhanced lubrication material.
Because of today’s active life style, total joint replacements are needed in younger and younger patients; however, doctors are reluctant to perform joint replacement surgeries on these younger patients due to the limited life of the bearing materials. This new technology could provide these patients with a longer lasting alternative. For our aging population — living longer, more active lives now than ever before — this new technology holds the hope of replacement joints that will last as long as they do.
Schwartz Biomedical has been named principal investigator to research, develop, commercialize and market this new self-lubricating bearing material. Project partners include Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) who is licensing the technology to Schwartz and participating in the basic research, a major orthopaedic device company in Warsaw, Ind., who is involved in the research and development activities and may be interested in commercial production and distribution of the product, and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (Fort Wayne, IN), who supports Schwartz Biomedical with laboratory facilities and business incubation services.
For more information about this breakthrough study in engineered tissue development, contact Dr. Herb Schwartz, 260-407-6468 or herb@schwartzbiomedical.com
About Schwartz Biomedical
Schwartz Biomedical, LLC, is a tissue engineering company that generates and develops novel tissue engineering solutions to orthopaedic and oral/maxillofacial problems. Dr. Herb Schwartz is founder, president and CEO of Schwartz Biomedical. Prior to founding his own company, Dr. Schwartz was employed by DePuy Orthopaedics in their Orthobiologics (soft tissue engineering) Department. During his tenure with DePuy, Dr Schwartz established himself as a prolific innovator by generating more than 25 U.S. patents (issued or pending) in the field of orthopaedics and tissue engineering. He received his Ph.D. and MS in Biomechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
About Colorado State University (CSU)
Founded as the Colorado Agricultural College in 1870, Colorado State University (CSU) is a land-grant institution and a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive. Dr Sue James is the Director of the Biomedical Engineering Program, Director of Rocky Mountain Materials Research (RMMR) and co-Director of the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Research Laboratory at CSU. Dr. James is also the developer of the chemical enhancement technology that is being licensed by Schwartz Biomedical for theses studies. She received her Ph.D. in polymers from MIT in 1993 and her B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science (with a minor in Biomedical Engineering) from Carnegie Mellon in 1989.
About The Innovation Center
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a regional technology business incubator whose mission is to accelerate the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services. The Innovation Center’s main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the incubation program financially viable and freestanding, ready to bring new jobs and investment to Northeast Indiana.
source: http://wire.industrysearch.com/cgi-bin/portal2/main.plx?file=4609.txt