Bone Therapeutics, the regenerative therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in the fields of bone diseases and orthopaedics and Kasios, the synthetic bone substitute specialist, announce a two-year collaboration to develop a novel product for spinal fusion procedures. The collaboration combines Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic osteoblastic cell therapy product Allob with Kasios’s synthetic micro-granules bone substitute. The project is subsidized by the Government of the Walloon Region.
Bone Therapeutics and Kasios believe the combined product offering will create a novel approach to spine fusion, where previous methods have failed to provide the three essential properties required for bone formation in this specific indication: osteoconduction, when bone graft material serves as a support for new bone growth; osteoinduction, in which immature cells are recruited and stimulated to develop into bone-forming cells or “osteoblasts” and osteogenesis, the production of new bone. Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic osteoblastic cell therapy product Allob has already shown bone forming properties including osteoinduction and osteogenicity, as well as excellent safety and efficacy in preclinical studies.
Combining Bone Therapeutics’ Allob cells with Kasios TCP’s osteoconductive micro-granules has the potential to enhance 3D growth and bone growth in spine fusion, bringing advantages in stability and structure. Osteoconduction is particularly key in spine fusion procedures, where larger fracture areas create a need for more structural support, which Kasios’ micro-granules can provide.
A number of methods have been developed and proposed to promote spinal fusion, such as ceramics, cadaver bones, osteoinductive growth factors or undifferentiated stem cells. However, non-union of bone and persistent pain following spinal fusion intervention is still common so further improvements in the procedure that improve safety and efficacy are still strongly needed.
Enrico Bastianelli, CEO of Bone Therapeutics commented: “We are excited by the collaboration with Kasios which positions both companies at the forefront of development into an innovative new approach to spine fusion. Kasios is a leader in synthetic bone substitutes and we look forward to what we hope will be a very fruitful collaboration as we seek to advance novel solutions for spine fusion.”
Nicolas Guéna, CEO of Kasios commented: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Bone Therapeutics and we believe there are significant synergies between our approaches. By combining our bone substitute with Allob , we aim to benefit from increased bone regeneration efficacy, while our technology provides superior 3D support for new bone formation.”
Allob is a first-in-class allogeneic osteoblastic cell product with regenerative properties, developed for the treatment of bone diseases. "Allogeneic" means that the cells are harvested from a healthy, universal donor, as opposed to "autologous" where the cells come from the patient him/herself. Allob is currently tested in two phase I/IIa clinical trials for the treatment of delayed union fractures and lumbar fusion for degenerative disease of the spine. Allob also has the potential to be administered systemically to treat orthopaedic conditions such as osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare genetic bone disease characterized by bone fragility and fractures. Allob has been classified as a tissue engineered product under the ATMP regulation 1394/2007EMA.
Kasios specializes in the development, manufacture and commercialization of synthetic bone substitutes for use in orthopedics, spine and dental surgery. The company’s expertise in biomaterials comes from its team of calcium phosphate experts, recognized for their knowledge in developing new products designed to this fast growing market.