Deteriorating or damaged cartilage is a force to be reckoned with. But ProChon Biotech’s vision is to lead in the innovation of regenerative musculoskeletal technologies in order to relieve pain and restore the mobility and the quality of life for millions who suffer from articular cartilage injury through the advancement of orthobiologic therapeutic solutions. ProChon is striving to accomplish this through the development and commercialization of products for acute and chronic articular cartilage focal lesions through internal development, collaborative partnerships and value building initiatives.
ProChon is pioneering new technologies that are redefining the focus of clinical orthopedics from traditional metal implants, plates and screws to biology-based products for tissue regeneration, expanding treatment options, improving patients’ quality of life and reducing healthcare costs. ProChon’s research and development is based in the Weizmann Science Park, Ness Ziona, Israel, while their executive management team is based in Woburn, Massachusetts. OneMedForum NY 2011 welcomes them as a presenting company.
The market for medical implants is one of the largest healthcare markets and is a fast growing one. Future growth is driven by technological advancements and the social and economic changes in the developing countries. It is also significantly influenced by the change in the age structure (aging “Baby Boomers”) in the industrialized countries who demand the right to remain physically active well into old age. It is evident that there exists a continued growth of the markets for hip and knee replacements, sports medicine (mainly arthroscopic surgery) and orthobiologics (meniscal/cartilage repair/bone substitutes).
A prospective treatment that prevents progression of cartilage damage should significantly reduce the need for total knee replacement. There is general acceptance that the next generation of therapy will combine autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) in a biodegradable scaffold for direct implantation into the defect via a minimally invasive procedure. Currently, there are several therapeutic methods for cartilage repair. None of these therapies are able to report results that successful regenerated hyaline tissue or any tissue that is able to withstand normal joint loading and activity over prolonged periods of time. ProChon’s leading product for cartilage repair, BioCart Autologous Cartilage Regeneration System, provides the ultimate solution for the restoration of articular cartilage lesions resulting in the regeneration of hyaline-like tissue.