UTA-linked startup TissueGen, recognized with “Medical Device Engineering Breakthrough” award
Biotech startup TissueGen, Inc. was awarded the “Medical Device Engineering Breakthrough” award by MedTech Breakthrough, an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global health and medical technology market. More than 2000 inventions from more than 10 countries competed for the awards for 2017.
TissueGen won the award for its patented ELUTE® fiber, which provides pharmaceutical, therapeutic and medical device companies with topical and implantable drug delivery from biodegradable polymer-based fibers. Medical devices incorporating these fibers have the potential to revolutionize tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications including spinal cord injury repair, nerve regeneration, orthopedic soft tissue repair, and many more.
ELUTE® fiber is based on patented technologies developed by Dr. Kevin Nelson while he was a bioengineering faculty member at the University of Texas at Arlington. He later founded TissueGen to bring the technology to the market.
“Progress on implantable and topical fiber-based delivery of biologics and pharmaceuticals is paving the way for the next generation of orthopedic medical products, tissue engineering breakthroughs and advances in regenerative medicine,” Nelson said. “This award is further recognition that these technologies represent the future of medicine.”
TissueGen’s patented extrusion process and fiber technologies enable delivery of the broadest range of pharmaceuticals and biologics previously impracticable to incorporate in topical and implantable fiber-based devices, and opens up new possibilities for improving patient care.
"We are pleased to recognize TissueGen for their outstanding display of engineering innovation in the development of ELUTE® fiber," said James Johnson, managing director, MedTech Breakthrough. "The competition among medical device and solution engineering award nominations was fierce, and TissueGen displayed a compelling and high-impact solution for a broad range of topical and implantable medical devices products."
Teri Schultz, director of UTA’s Office of Technology Management, underlined that Dr. Nelson continues to collaborate with UTA more than a decade after he established TissueGen.
“Taking this complex technology to market has taken many years of hard work and further development of the initial technologies created at UTA,” Schultz said. “We look forward to seeing this ground-breaking initiative reach the market and make a real difference to patient care.”
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