It is reported that the current market for bone graft and bone substitute materials is approximately $3 billion with continuous year to year growth due to the aging population. Despite the large demand in bone substitute materials, many currently available products fall short in some key areas. With the previous NSF award and other support, the PI?s research group at the University of Connecticut has developed a novel biomimetic bone scaffold with potentially breakthrough properties compared to currently-available products: (1) superior mechanical properties, providing the necessary mechanical strength for initial surgical handling and mechanical support for enhanced new bone formation; (2) rapid bone formation, which would significantly reduce the rehabilitation time for patients; (3) degradation rate that is identical to the new bone ingrowth rate, leading to near-perfect defect repair with natural bone; and;(4) a fabrication process that is simple, low cost, and easily scaled for mass production.
If successful, this effort will provide the translation of a novel technology from academic discovery to a commercialized product. I-Corp funding of this proposal will enable the team to establish a better understanding of the current bone substitute market and the needs of consumers, orthopedic and medical device companies and importantly the patients thereby, maximizing the potential success of this novel scaffold. Such an understanding will allow the team to develop a plan that matches market opportunities, and guides the transformation from research and development to a robust product.
The I-Corps project proposed to evaluate the commercialization feasibility of a novel apatite/collagen tissue engineering scaffold for enhanced bone repair and regeneration. The specific objectives of the project are: (1) Provide the I-Corps team a learning opportunity to determine the commercial readiness of its product; (2) Enable the team to develop a clear go/no-go decision regarding commercial viability of the effort; and (3) Should the decision be moving the technology forward to market, a step-by-step plan will be developed to commercialize the product. Intellectual Merits: It is reported that the current market for bone grafting and bone substitute materials is approximately $3 billion with continuous year to year growth due to the aging population. The bone substitute segment in which our product would compete is currently estimated at $720 million with a rate of growth (~40%) exceeding that (~14%) of the combined market. Despite the large demand in bone substitute materials, many currently available products fall short in some key areas. With the previous NSF award and other support, the PI's research group at the University of Connecticut has developed a novel biomimetic bone scaffold with breakthrough properties compared to currently available products: (1) superior mechanical properties, providing the necessary mechanical strengths for initial surgical handling and mechanical support for enhanced new bone formation; (2) rapid new bone formation rate in a mouse calvarial model, which would significantly reduce the rehabilitation time for patients; (3) matching degradation rate to new bone ingrowth rate, leading to perfect defect repair by natural bone; and (4) simple and low-cost fabrication process, which is easy to scale-up for mass production. Broader Impact: This application provides for the translation of a novel technology from academic discovery to a commercializable product. I-Corps funding of this proposal enabled the team to establish a better understanding of the current bone substitute market and the needs of consumers, orthopedic and medical device companies and importantly the patients thereby, maximizing the commercial success of this novel scaffold. Such an understanding allows the team to develop a business plan that matches market opportunities, and guides the transformation from research and development to a robust commercialization process. In addition, this I-Corps project provides a highly motivated graduate student (the Entrepreneurial Lead), the faculty PI and the I-Corps mentor the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in the assessment of the commercialization potential of a product developed from laboratory. The project also provides a good platform for the team to work together to deliver the technology to the market in the future. The PI is committed to the process of technology transfer to the commercial setting, and incorporates the knowledge learned from this project to her lectures at the University of Connecticut to bridge students' knowledge between technology and commercialization. She also uses the knowledge learnt from this project to train graduate and undergraduate students in her research group and encourages them to become entrepreneurs. Keywords: Scaffold, bone repair and regeneration, tissue engineering, apatite/collagen composites, commercialization
