Israeli regenerative medicine and tissue engineering company Matricelf Ltd. (TASE: MTLF) and Tel Aviv University technology transfer company Ramot, today announced the signing of an exclusive global licensing agreement for the commercialization of an innovative technological patent in the field of 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs. The technology was developed by Prof. Tal Dvir of the Department of Biotechnology in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Head of the Nanotechnology Center in Tel Aviv University, who was one of the founders of Matricelf and is the company’s Chief Scientific Officer.
Matricelf is developing autologous (bone marrow) implants for the regeneration of damaged tissues and organs in the body, by using stem cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) from the patients themselves.
Under the terms of the agreement, Matricelf will receive the global rights as well as exclusivity to both develop and produce the technology that is used for printing organs and tissues, among other things, for the indications on which the company focuses, and for commercializing the technology for third parties. This is subject to meeting scientific and business milestones. As part of the agreement, the company will commit, to sign, within 36 months from the date of the signing of the agreement, at least one commercialization agreement with a third party, subject to approval by Ramot, whether this is a licensing agreement of this or that specific development, or an investment agreement to development the technology, etc.
The patent, which is in the application process for approval in the US and Europe, covers different aspects of this unique technology, which allows simultaneous 3D printing of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), for producing scaled-up living human tissues and organs, and which in practice includes most of the body’s organs. The uniqueness of the technology is based on liquid nano-molecules, which stabilize the printed biological structure, even though they are liquid, and allows printing at a high resolution and the highest degree of precision. After printing, the molecules are full extracted from the printed structure, and leave it stabilized. Through this technology, a full heart made of human cells and extracellular matrix was printed for the first time anywhere in the world at Tel Aviv University in 2019.
Matricelf CEO Dr. Asaf Toker said, "We are happy to agree another collaboration with Tel Aviv University and see this as a strong vote of confidence in the company and its scientific and commercial ability, in the field of tissue engineering, which is the future of medicine. 3D bioprinting is in the forefront of this sector, which is growing by an average of tens of percentages annually and is expected to be worth billions of dollars by 2024. Applying the technology, both in the development of the company, primarily by treating injury to the spinal cord, as well as commercialization to various partners in the sector, significantly increases the potential for growing the value of the company in the foreseeable future and strengthening its status as a leading global player in the sector."
Prof. Tal Dvir said, "The growing shortage of organs for transplants is leading to the need to find breakthrough solutions, primarily 3D biological printing of tissues and organs. This field is expected to develop at an accelerated pace over the next decade and we believe that this technology of printing organs, which simultaneously combines cells and extracellular matrix, well positions us to realize the company’s vision to become a pioneer in the regenerative medicine sector, due to the unique platform for printing tissues and organs that will provide a remedy and save the lives of patients throughout the world."
Ramot CEO Keren Primor Cohen added, "Ramot - the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University, believes in the ability of this breakthrough technology of Prof. Tal Dvir, to change the rules of the game in the tissue engineering sector and to benefit the entire medical world. Ramot will continue to invest and to promote innovative technology of this kind by the university’s researchers, together with leading partners from the industry such as companies like Matricelf."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 30, 2022.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.