NovaThera and the BioTex consortium announce the success of their programme, funded by the DTI to engineer and develop a new TheraGlass® nanofiber based textile – NovaTex™ for complex surgical and new regenerative medicine applications.

Approximately 200,000 skull and face surgeries are performed in the EEC each year. Up to 10% of these require further operations because of failed procedures or infection. Where implants are used to repair bone, common problems after surgery are infection, instability and movement of the repaired surface. Many operations use bone grafts taken from the same patient but these suffer from limited supply of bone, infection and difficulties in shaping the donor bone to the repair site.

Bioactive glasses have been developed since the early 1970s with Bioglass® being used clinically for the last 20 years for bone reconstruction. Bioactive glasses help bone to proliferate and regenerate. NovaThera’s proprietary production processes allow growth factors and antibacterial agents to be added to TheraGlass® so that advanced bioactive materials with tailored medical properties can be created. A fibre form of this material has been on the applications ‘wish list ‘ for many years.

The NovaTex nanoglass program has succeded in creating a production process for fibre manufacture and this advance has made possible the production of a novel textile material that will be made into a resorbable scaffold with the capability of delivering drugs, growth factors and cell therapies. This material can be engineered into a range of textiles with different mechanical properties, nanostructures and degradation rates.

”This programme has delivered ahead of schedule and provided a new nano textile with many potential uses. ” said CSO of NovaThera Gareth Roberts.

Potential benefits are savings in medical costs of up to £500 million each year with significant improvements in the cosmetic and medical outcome. NovaTex textiles will also be of value in other applications such as supporting repair and regeneration of other tissue types and in wound management.

The Biotex project is managed by Pera and partners in the consortium are leaders in their respective fields in the UK, and have capabilities ranging from basic research, technology transfer and product development through to the sales and marketing of clinical products.

The partners include Pera, a technology development and industry support centre for medical and engineering solutions; Corinthian Surgical Ltd, a producer of bone cements for maxillofacial/orthopaedic surgery; Hunt Developments UK Ltd, a specialist in medical device packaging and sterilisation; Culzean Medical Devices Ltd, a manufacturer of a diversity of implantable textile materials; The British Healthcare Trades Association, representing a membership of 350 companies in the healthcare industry; The University of Manchester, a leading UK expert in bioactive glasses for tissue engineering applications; and, DePuy International Ltd, designer and manufacturer of bone cements and accessories, bone substitute materials and Orthopaedic devices for use in Orthopaedic surgery.

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Notes to editors:

Background on NovaThera Ltd
NovaThera Ltd is an Imperial College spin out company. NovaThera specialises in pioneering applications of biomaterials and stem cell biology for regenerative medicine to provide innovative therapeutic solutions (wound management, bone repair, lung repair).
For more information about NovaThera, please visit http://www.novathera.com.

Background on Pera
Pera is a leading European innovation support organisation, at the heart of facilitating the strategic change needed for industry to compete in a globalised economy. Pera’s success has been demonstrated for 60 years. Through first-class research and development facilities, consultancy and training operations, and one of Europe’s most comprehensive business intelligence centres, we develop groundbreaking technological solutions and world-class business strategies for clients. For more information about Pera, please visit http://www.pera.com.

Background on Other Partners
Corinthian Surgical Ltd http://www.corinthiansurgical.com
Hunt Developments UK Ltd http://www.huntdevelopments.co.uk/medical/index.html
Culzean Medical Devices Ltd http://www.culzean-medical.com
British Healthcare Trades Association http://www.bhta.net/index.html
The University of Manchester http://www.materials.manchester.ac.uk/content2/school/staff/pages/JulieGough.htm
DePuy http://www.depuy.com

Contacts:

NovaThera	Pera
Dr Gareth Roberts, CSO g.roberts@novathera.com	Mark Taylor mark.taylor@pera.com

This press release contains forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward looking statements.