Tissue Regenix secures £25 million investment

Faculty of Engineering spin out company, Tissue Regenix Group Plc has secured a new investment of £25 million. The company was formed in 2006 to take an innovative range of 'biological scaffold' products (now known as dCELL® technologies) to market.

The dCELL® process removes the cells from natural tissues to leave a biological scaffold which can be regenerated by the patient's own cells. Because a patient's own cells can populate the new biological scaffolds, they are accepted by the immune system and can be repaired like normal tissue. There is a significant advantage from this technique because of the longevity of the transplant compared to other previously developed techniques.

The new investment will allow the Group to further develop and commercialise a range of applications of the dCELL® technology, including: a vascular patch; a porcine heart valve product; a meniscus product (to repair cartilage in the knee); and wound care and skin repair products.

John Samuel, Executive Chairman of Tissue Regenix, said:

"We are delighted to announce this material funding round which will transform our balance sheet and gives us the firepower to leverage our innovative technology platform. As well as allowing the Company to develop a range of products simultaneously following the established medical device regulatory route, this commitment from both existing and new investors is a significant endorsement of the commercial potential of our broad product pipeline. The Directors continue to believe that our tissue products' ability to retain biomechanical and regenerative capabilities on implantation provides us with an attractive platform from which we aim to become a significant global player in regenerative medicine."

The company resulted from research at the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (iMBE) at Leeds, which was named in November as the winner of the Queen's Anniversary Prize, which is the country's highest accolade for an academic institution. The Institute is the UK's leading bioengineering research institution and has pioneered research into joint replacements, spinal interventions and tissue engineering and has created new products and therapies which are in use by surgeons in clinics and hospitals around the world. The Institute is led by Tissue Regenix founders, Professors John Fisher and Eileen Ingham, who will receive the award in February 2012.