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Helping the body heal itself
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The first technology company to emerge from the collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made it to the finals of a prestigious entrepreneurship contest.
OrthoMimetics - which is based in Cambridge, UK - is developing new products to treat hip and knee joints damaged by arthritis or sporting injuries. Tomorrow, (17 November 2005), it will be going head-to-head with nine other businesses in the finals of the East of England Development Agency’s ‘Running the Gauntlet’ competition to try and win a share of £1m in investment funding.
OrthoMimetics was set up in March 2005 to develop and commercialise products based on tissue regeneration research carried out at the two universities. The company was co-founded by a group of researchers – including leading pioneers in the fields of artificial skin and artificial bone - working on a project funded by the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI), the joint venture between the two universities. The researchers have been working to develop new biomaterials technologies that uniquely mimic the structure and composition of the body’s skeletal tissues.
Damaged knees, arthritic joints
These could be used, for example, to improve the treatment of sportsmen’s damaged knees and the joints of patients in the early stages of arthritis. And it is not only humans who may benefit from the new technologies: other potential patients include racehorses.
Dr Andrew Lynn, who worked on the CMI project as a Cambridge PhD student, is now the chief executive of OrthoMimetics. He says,
“Our aim is to bring to market a series of products that will help surgeons prevent or delay the onset of serious joint degeneration. This will allow patients to continue living healthy, active lifestyles, and enable them to put off joint replacement surgery – a bonus for younger patients, as joint replacements have a limited life of 10-15 years before they themselves need replacing.”
Dr Lynn entered OrthoMimetics into EEDA’s ‘Running the Gauntlet’ competition after hearing about it during the summer. ‘The Gauntlet’ itself is a novel online tool that helps start-up firms assess their business plans, and how ready they are to look for investment. Entrants were asked 16 questions of the kind that real-life investors would ask, and were judged on their responses.
Running the Gauntlet
OrthoMimetics was shortlisted in early autumn 2005, and then chosen as a finalist by a judging panel chaired by TV “Dragons’ Den” judge Doug Richard, Chairman of Library House, and Boyd Mulvey, CEO of leading East of England investor CREATE.
The contest reaches a climax tomorrow. The finalists will pitch to the judges at EEDA’s ‘Destination Growth’ conference, and a number of them will then be invited to negotiate equity deals live on stage.
OrthoMimetics is currently planning a programme of fund-raising to generate the revenues needed to develop and test its products, and will be looking for its first round of major funding next year. As a result, says Dr Lynn, taking part in the ‘Running the Gauntlet’ contest has been a very valuable exercise.
“The ‘Gauntlet’ computer program acted like an investor, asking us 16 questions and then giving us feedback on our answers. We were also invited to participate in seminars on topics like the legal aspects of setting up a business, accountancy and presentation skills, which have been very useful.” Anne Dobree is interim director of Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge. She says, “We are delighted that the company has made it to the finals of this prestigious competition. We at Cambridge Enterprise have worked hard with Andrew and the team to help bring these exciting new technologies out of the two universities. So we wish OrthoMimetics every success.”
Notes for Editors
OrthoMimetics grew out of a Cambridge-MIT Institute ‘tissue regeneration’ project that spans a range of disciplines from Materials Science, Physics and Engineering to Medicine. At MIT, the project involves pioneers in the fields of tissue engineering and artificial skin, and is led by Professor Lorna Gibson in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. She is a co-founder of OrthoMimetics, as is her MIT colleague Professor Ioannis Yannas (whose scaffold for regenerating skin in burns victims is now in clinical use), and graduate student Brendan Harley. At Cambridge, the research is led by award-winning artificial-bone pioneer, William Bonfield, Professor of Medical Materials at the University of Cambridge Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. He too is a co-founder of the company, and chairs OrthoMimetics’ Scientific Advisory Board.
Cambridge Enterprise facilitates the commercial development of University of Cambridge’s intellectual property. Specialist technology transfer staff manage all aspects of patents, copyright and contractual arrangements. Cambridge Enterprise licenses patents and other intellectual property to existing companies, both large and small, as well as to spinouts formed to exploit University technology. Working together with venture capital funds and private investors, Cambridge Enterprise generates companies with strong commercial potential. During 2004-5 the University applied for 43 patents based on 127 invention disclosures, while a total of 40 new licences and other commercial agreements were completed. Income from patent and software licences exceeded £2.5m, and demand for academics' technical advice added a further £1.5 million of revenue. Three new University spin-out companies were launched.