ChitogenX Granted New U.S., Canadian ORTHO-R Patent

Clinical-stage regenerative medicine company ChitogenX recently obtained a notice of allowance for a new patent in the U.S. and Canada. The patent grants protection for using its ORTHO-R chitosan-based biopolymer as a standalone scaffold, or combined with other therapeutic agents like biologics.
 
ChitogenX’s ORTHO-R platform is a muco-adhesive, Chitosan-based biopolymer matrix engineered to deliver biologics like platelet-rich plasma or bone marrow aspirate concentrate to boost healing in a variety of regenerative medical applications. Chitosan, a derivative of chitin, is extracted from the exoskeleton of crustaceans, including shrimp, lobster, and clams. It can also be derived from reishi mushrooms’ cell walls.
 
Earlier this year, ChitogenX and Polytechnique Montréal (where ORTHO-R was invented) were granted nearly $3.5 million from the The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Prima Québec to further advance ORTHO-R’s development.
 
“The receipt of this notice of allowance for a patent in the key US and Canadian jurisdictions makes our proprietary chitosan-based biopolymer scaffold significantly more valuable to potential partners and recognizes its unique characteristics for much broader regenerative medicine applications when compared to our existing PRP-Chitosan proprietary platform”,  company CEO Philippe Deschamps told the press. “We are currently evaluating opportunities for fast-track regulatory programs with potential 510(k) pre-market submissions in the US and commercial readiness in other jurisdictions. We expect to announce our plans to take full advantage of the broad clinical and commercial opportunities now available to us in the coming months.”
 
The company also said other ORTHO-R formulations are in development to tune performance characteristics like tissue adhesion, pliability, and the ability to deliver biologics or therapeutics damaged by trauma or disease.