Ortho RTi Announces More Prestigious Scientific Validation

Ortho Regenerative Technologies Inc. (Ortho RTi), an emerging orthopedic and sports medicine technology company, revealed the results of two key scientific studies validating its product’s ability to improve the repair of two distinct joint tissues— the rotator cuff tendon and articular cartilage.
 
On Feb. 3, the rotator cuff study results were presented at the Annual Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) meeting held in Austin, Texas.
 
The presentation given by Marc Lavertu Ph.D, from Montreal’s École Polytechnique, highlighted the results of a dose ranging study examining Ortho RTi’s Ortho-R technology in the biologic repair of rotator cuff injuries. The study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathology (the microscopic examination of biological tissues in very fine detail), read by blinded experts, to compare the results of Ortho-R versus standard of care in a non-clinical rotator cuff injury model in sheep. It showed that Ortho-R improved rotator cuff healing processes in this large animal model, as revealed by MRI and trends of improved structural appearance of the tendon and enthesis at 12 weeks post-op.
 
The accepted peer reviewed journal article titled, “Freeze-dried chitosan/PRP implants improve marrow stimulated cartilage repair in a chronic defect rabbit model” will appear in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.
 
“Our scientific evidence continues to excel and gather the attention of world experts. These are two more of our 16 peer-reviewed abstracts, posters, manuscripts and podium presentations in the last two years. Further, these are key publications resulting from work with experts at New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery,” said Ortho RTi Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Michael Buschmann

The rotator cuff is a collection of four tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint. The tendons around the joint can suffer tears as a result of injury to the tendon or as a result of degeneration over time. Repetitive overhead activity is often associated with cuff tears. Symptoms include a dull, aching pain, and patients often suffer secondary symptoms including lack of sleep and weakness in the arms resulting from a lack of exercise. If conservative therapy is not successful, surgery will often be performed. The principal aim of surgical intervention is to reattach the torn tendon to the bone. The standard of care involves the use of suture anchors placed into the bone and the tendon then being held in place with sutures. There are 4 million Americans with rotator cuff injuries, and all are at risk for disability. It is estimated that 25 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 40 will develop a rotator cuff tear, with aging ‘weekend warriors’ escalating the problem.
 
Articular cartilage covers the ends of bones that form joints in the body. It provides lubrication so that the joints move smoothly with low friction and helps transmit mechanical load. Articular cartilage can be damaged by injury or through degenerative processes, which makes moving the joints difficult and painful (osteoarthritis). Microfracture is a surgical repair technique that consists of drilling small channels into the bone under a cartilage defect. Although microfracture is currently the gold standard for treating small, focal cartilage lesions, it provides only short to mid-term relief since the repair tissue is usually of poor quality. In Canada alone, osteoarthritis affects more than 10 percent of people aged 15 years and older with a total economic burden estimated at $405 billion by 2020. In the United States, 1.7 million new cartilage injuries are detected annually with only 125,000 treated.
 
Ortho RTi is an emerging orthopedic and sports medicine biologics company that develops therapeutic soft tissue repair technologies to improve the success rate of sports medicine surgeries. Its proprietary biopolymer has been specifically designed to increase the healing rates of sports-related injuries to tendons, meniscus, ligaments and cartilage. The polymer can be directly placed into the site of injury by a surgeon during a routine operative procedure without significantly extending the time of the surgery and without further intervention. Considering the significant bio-activity and residency of our proprietary bio-polymer Ortho RTi continues to assess its potential for therapeutic uses outside of the soft tissue repair.