Key Points:
- Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology (HART) has partnered with the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh to study repair and regeneration of the colon post colectomy.
- The research program will focus on the use of HART’s cell-based scaffold platform which uses a patient’s own stem cells to regenerate and restore function to damaged organs.
- Around 300,000 colectomies are performed annually in the US with post-operative complications costing health care an estimated $1B per annum.
Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology (HART), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh have sealed an agreement to establish a research collaboration focusing on the repair and regeneration of the colon following a colectomy. The treatment aims to alleviate many complications associated with colectomy, including leaks, narrowing of the intestines, fistulas, infection, blood clots and necrosis.
The partnership’s program will concentrate on the use of HART’s cell-based scaffold platform. Here, the patient’s own stem cells are deployed to regenerate organs and restore their functions internally. The platform technology has potential to rescue complications linked to colectomy, possibly leading to significant cost reductions within the US health care system.
Colectomy is a surgical procedure involving the complete or partial removal of the colon due to conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Each year around 300,000 such procedures are undertaken in the US alone.
HART intends to develop a product to repair and regenerate the colon after colectomy in order to expand their pipeline and enhance their product portfolio. Further, HART foresees that their technology can be used to repair and regenerate other tubular organs within the gastrointestinal tract which can contribute to the patient’s healing process and potentially alleviate the need for additional surgeries.
HART previously conducted the world’s first successful regeneration of the esophagus in a patient with esophageal cancer in August 2017 and has various patents and orphan-drug designations across the globe.