Regenerative medicine company Orthocell (ASX:OCC) has announced Chinese and Hong Kong patents have been granted for its novel CelGro collagen rope device, to augment the surgical repair of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
The patents, entitled 'Collagen Construct and Method for Producing the Collagen Construct', are now in place in the US, Australia, Japan, China and Hong Kong. They are set to expire on or after 12 October 2035.
Orthocell managing director Paul Anderson said, "There are currently no biological off-the-shelf solutions that mimic human ligament to enable the optimal repair of ACL injuries. The CelGro collagen rope addresses this problem. It is designed to augment ACL reconstruction without the need to harvest the patient's hamstring or patella tendon and will disrupt the sports injury repair market by dramatically improving ACL surgery outcomes. We are extremely excited by the potential of this novel technology and I look forward to releasing the pre-clinical results in Q3 CY2021."
Current surgical repair methods for reconstructing the ACL mostly involve a hamstring graft where part of the patient's tendon is surgically removed and used to replace the ruptured ACL.
However, harvesting the patients hamstring tendon has many downsides. It is time-consuming and can result in donor site morbidity leaving the patient prone to hamstring tears or strains during rehabilitation. Additionally, it can extend recovery time and the repaired ACL can also rupture.
Orthocell has developed an alternative to harvesting the patient's tendons in the form of a CelGro collagen rope made from braided collagen fibres. The company believes this has the potential to significantly improve treatment efficiency and effectiveness by simplifying repair techniques, reducing surgery time and mitigating the risks associated with harvesting the patient's hamstring tendon.
