New company will expand stem cell like cells from articular cartilage for allogeneic implants.

Progenteq has been spun out from Cardiff University to develop a cell-based cartilage-replacement therapy. The company has been set up by Fusion IP, a university commercialization company that has exclusive rights to 100% of university-owned research generated at Cardiff University and the The University of Sheffield.

The cartilage-replacement technology exploits a defined population of articular cartilage cells that Fusion claims display stem cell like properties and can be expanded ex vivo to generate large quantities of cartilage. Progenteq hopes to develop these cells as a stored bank of material for allogeneic cartilage-replacement therapy in patients with acute injuries.

The company suggests that allogeneic implants would be more cost-effective than autologous approaches requiring the expansion of cartilage cells derived from individual patients. It also believes a cartilage cell bank could pave the way for new treatments against degenerative disorders such as osteoarthritis.

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