European Alliance to Develop Tissue Engineered Cartilage

An alliance of European academic experts on chondrocyte biology and leading companies in tissue engineering and medical polymer processing has been awarded a EUR 1 million grant from the BriteEuram program of the European Commission to fund a research and development program called Scafcart. This program, which will run for four years, will focus on the development of novel bioresorbable scaffolds and culture methods for cartilage tissue engineering. The members of the alliance are the University of Sheffield (UK), Fidia Advanced Biopolymers in Italy, the University of Basel (Switzerland), Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland), and the biomedical company IsoTis BV (Bilthoven, The Netherlands).

The aim of Scafcart is to produce novel, patentable scaffolds (cell carrier biomaterials that also provide mechanical support) optimized for the treatment of cartilage injury. The articular cartilage procedures in Europe are similar in number to the 400,000 performed each year in the United States. However, the current state-of-the-art interventions are far from ideal and have at best only a temporary clinical effect, according to IsoTis. Another grant of almost EUR 2 million from BriteEuram has been awarded to IsoTis to develop tissue engineered cartilage.

I am convinced that the results of the Scafcart program will be a major factor in lifting the enormous burden caused by articular cartilage injuries, and will give IsoTis an excellent position in an exciting global growth market, said Clemens van Blitterswijk, president and CEO of IsoTis.