Invention: Decellularisation for regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine has a new option for soft tissue replacements thanks to the British husband-and-wife team of immunologist Eileen Ingham and bioengineer John Fisher, both of the University of Leeds. Providing a safe alternative for skin, tendon and heart valve transplants, their patented process prevents donor tissue from being rejected by the recipient's immune system.
The human body
naturally rejects foreign objects - even restorative inserts such as medical implants.
Titanium has proven to be a biologically tolerable material for dental implants
and prostheses, as it causes no immune system response. But replacing soft
tissues such as skin or tendons has remained a challenge in restorative
medicine for decades.
However a marriage of biology and physics - in the form of a husband-and-wife research team - has come up with a new solution. The physical expertise from Fisher's engineering background, complemented by Ingham's biological know-how, resulted in a patented decellularisation process that naturally integrates implant tissue into the recipient's body.
Marketed as dCELL technology by Tissue Regenix, the University of Leeds spin-off company the couple founded, the invention solves the problem of tissue transplant rejection. Developed at the University of Leeds over the course of more than a decade, it involves washing donated human or animal tissue to remove almost all DNA and cellular material. The end result is a biological scaffold, on which new tissue can be grown with the exact same properties as the tissue it will repair or replace.
Societal benefit
Increased lifespans, along with an increase in chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, which take a heavy toll on the human body, mean that people require restorative medicine more often. Serving this demand, Ingham and Fisher's patented decellularisation technology is a way to repair or replace damaged soft tissues and organs that is expanding in possibilities.
The greatest impact so far has been in the treatment of diabetic ulcers. An estimated 415 million people worldwide have diabetes, with 6% of them suffering a foot ulcer or wound that could lead to amputation or even death. The technology has helped create a decellularised human skin treatment to repair wounds associated with diabetes. It has proven highly popular since its launch in 2014 in Europe and the United States.
Cardiovascular diseases are another promising area for treatment. Replacement heart valves - one of Fisher's areas of speciality - are made from human donor valves and removed of their cellular material via the decelluralisation technique. After successful clinical trials in Brazil over a period of ten years, the technology is progressing through the German regulatory approval processes for use in the EU.
The possibilities for Ingham and Fisher's creation are breathtaking. Their company has developed replacement tendons, made from either porcine or human donors, which are used for regenerative orthopaedic treatments. EU clinical trials are currently under way, with the company expecting CE mark approval and European availability of the first orthopaedic tendons in late 2018.
Economic benefit
In order to bring their patented invention to market, Ingham and Fisher co-founded Tissue Regenix in 2006. The company launched its first product in 2014. The decellularised human skin treatment is available in the United States as DermaPure and the UK as dCELL dermis. On the strength of these products, the company's annual revenues skyrocketed from EUR 6 700 in 2014 to EUR 1.6 million in 2016. According to the group’s latest annual results, revenues increased to EUR 6 million in 2017.
Tissue Regenix operates in a wound care market currently estimated to be worth about EUR 16 billion and forecast to grow, reaching EUR 19 billion by 2022.
Once approved, a heart valve based on the inventors' technology will address an ever-increasing need. The number of people diagnosed with heart failure worldwide is projected to grow by 46% by 2030. This has created a global market for heart valve repair and replacement devices that is expected to be worth an estimated EUR 6.5 billion by 2021.