Belgian Start Up Novadip To Regrow Bone And Skin For Repairs Through Stem Cell Technology
Research into biologics, or the regeneration of biological material, is advancing. The mythical possibility of humans growing back body parts like lizards grow back their severed tails is no longer science fiction, but a plausible end-goal for several startups around the world in the emerging field of regenerative medicine.
Novadip, a spinoff of La Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in the Wallonia region of Belgium, is developing a stem-cell-based plasticine material that will serve as the basis for growing back damaged bone and skin. They are prepping Stage I & II clinical trials for September to take place not only in Belgium, but also in the UK, Sweden and possibly Poland.
“The major obstacle is to demonstrate efficacy in comparison to classical treatment with a similar or lower cost than conventional treatments,” Denis Dufrane, Novadip’s co-founder and chairman of its Scientific Committee, told Geektime on the sidelines of the IATI Biomed conference in Tel Aviv.
Their product is dubbed the CREOST (a portmateau of “create” and “osteo”). It’s a scaffold made from a plasticine based on human stem cells, which can be guided to grow
into any kind of cell: bone, skin, muscle, organ, you name it. Plasticines are more akin to clay.In this case, the stem cells would eventually produce new bone cells, ossifying the material into new bone itself. The first trials are geared toward bone grafts, though Chief Scientific Officer Denis Dufrane tells Geektime they could start testing cartilage-oriented trials soon after. Skin regeneration is also a major focus.
They hope to bring their first scaffolds to the market by 2020, Dufrane said “Within five years, we normally will be able to perform a market entry after the completion of the clinical phases.”
The technology has the potential to benefit various kinds of patients. Some might be recovering from mild surgeries like the removal of NOFs (non-ossifying fibromas), a kind of benign tumor. Still others might be rehabilitating from more serious diseases or accidents.
Novadip was co-founded by CEO Jean-François Pollet and CSO Denis Dufrane. They are located in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, a city close to Brussels which is home to a number of UCL spinouts.
