Bone Therapeutics SA has been "bio inspired."
The Belgian company has been awarded a 3.8 million euro ($5.2 million) Marie Curie research grant to help develop new bio-mimetic and bioactive orthopedic materials. The grant --- part of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP7) --- is designed to better align R&D with Europe's scientific needs.
Bone Therapeutics will participate in a four-year "Bio-Inspire" bone regeneration project, designed to create new bio-mimetic and bioactive materials, and train leading tissue engineering scientists. Bio-Inspire is an interdisciplinary training program on bone regeneration provided by a consortium of seven renowned European academic and industrial partners with complementary expertise.
“We are delighted to have been selected to be part of this pan-European consortium," Bone Therapeutics CEO Enrico Bastianelli said. "The award is an endorsement of Bone Therapeutics’ scientific and clinical expertise in the development of innovative bio-mimetic materials for bone regeneration and the training of scientists. We look forward to working with the other members of the consortium to deliver this project.”
Bio-Inspire is led by Fujifilm (recombinant-collagen scaffolds, The Netherlands) and also includes ISTEC (natural bio-mineralisation, Italy), Erasmus Medical Center (growth factor technology, The Netherlands), Medicyte GmbH (stem cell technology, Denmark), Fraunhofer Institute (bone cell therapy, Denmark) and the Universita di Bologna (orthopedic therapies, Italy).“We are extremely proud to have been rewarded this Marie Curie Grant. This Grant provides us with the opportunity to study the use of these safe, GMP-manufactured bio-materials for repair of critical size bone defects," said Jan Bouwstra, Bio-Inspire project manager for Fujifilm. "We are proud to lead a consortium of European scientific and commercial organizations deeply motivated to develop the orthopaedic use bio-materials to improve the quality of life for European citizens.”
FP7 is the European Union's (EU) main instrument for funding research in Europe. Its two main strategic objectives are to (i) strengthen the scientific and technological base of European industry, and (ii) encourage its international competitiveness, while promoting research that supports EU policies.
Bone Therapeutics is a regenerative therapy company that develops minimally invasive orthopedic treatment solutions. Its product pipeline includes the autologous bone cell product, Preob, which currently is in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of osteonecrosis and non-union fractures as well as in a phase II trial for severe osteoporosis. The company's allogeneic bone cell product, Allob, is in a phase II clinical trial for delayed union fractures.
Founded in 2006, Bone Therapeutics is privately held and headquartered in Gosselies (south of Brussels), Belgium.