We are excited to announce that we have launched another project funded by Innovate UK!

Renovos won funding via the highly competitive SMART competition run by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency*. SMART grants fund ambitious or disruptive R&D innovations that can make a significant impact on the UK economy.We are delighted that our innovation has been recognised by the Innovate UK experts.

In collaboration with our partners from University of Southampton, the project “Renovite – pioneering use of synthetic nanoclays in regenerative medicine” will deliver further development of the Renovite nanoclay technology platform and accelerate its path to regulatory approval.

We are excited to start another Innovate UK-funded project and look forward to updating you all on our progress in the near future!

 

* Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org

Key read for nanoclays in drug delivery – group’s new publication on nanoclay in Nature Communications! The paper, which can be found here, reports on the use of bisphosphonate interactions with nanoclay edges to make drug-loaded composites without compromising materials properties or drug loading, which has been a common trade-off to date.

The Biofabrication paper, which can be found here, presents the in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo investigation of bioprinted skeletal or mesenchymal cells encapsulated in a nanoclay-based bioink. This produces viable and functional three-dimensional constructs for clinically relevant skeletal tissue regeneration.

Complexities of bringing small scale stem cell and scaffold therapies to a clinically relevant model, with an example of an ovine condyle defect model, are described in the Biomaterials publication, which can be found here. The study reports on the enriched ovine skeletal stem cell population (Stro-4⁺) and its efficacy for bone formation using a novel biocompatible melt electro-written medical grade polycaprolactone scaffold.

Renovos and our advanced nanoclay biomaterial, Renovite®, has been featured in Orthoworld. The article, “Renovos to Develop Next-Gen Technology to “Tame” BMP-2 Diffusion”, outlines key issues that novel regenerative medicine technologies need to overcome, and how Renovos and our innovative nanoclays address these in order to provide easy to handle, safe, effective and low-cost solutions in regenerative medicine, biologics delivery and orthopaedics. You can learn more about the nanoclay technology here.

 

Renovos’ orthobiologic nanoclay technology platform, Renovite®, is based on years of academic research. If you are interested in learning more, please find our key research papers here.

 

To read the article here!

Renovos has recently been awarded one of the very first charity investments in the UK. In a progressive move to find new ways to support people living with painful and debilitating bone and joint conditions, Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK), in partnership with healthtech experts HS., has announced a £140,000 investment from the recently launched Ronald Furlong Fund.

 

Renovos has now raised £700k in equity and grant funding to date to support the development of new nanoclay gel technology Renovite^Ⓡ, which has the potential to transform orthopaedic surgery. The gel allows a 100x lower dose of powerful regenerative therapeutic agent to be precisely delivered and localised to the sites where needed, and early trial data demonstrates that it contributes to improved bone healing. This consequently offers a step-change improvement in safety, efficacy and ease of use, as well as reduced adverse events and complications compared with current orthopaedic interventions.

 

Dr Arash Angadji, CEO of ORUK said:

“We are the first charity supporting start-ups with a focus on musculoskeletal health in the UK. The Ronald Furlong Fund initiative will play an important role in assisting entrepreneurs and innovators to quickly turn ideas into reality, with measurable benefits for the entire healthcare ecosystem.

 

Effective collaboration with HS. was instrumental in identifying Renovos and their exciting technology, and I am delighted to welcome them as ORUK’s first investment.”

 

Professor Richard OC Oreffo, Founder and CSO of Renovos said:

“We are delighted to receive support from ORUK, which will aid the development of our next-generation orthopaedic regenerative medicine solutions, harnessing nanoclay gels to deliver bone-forming agents safely and cost-effectively.

“The partnership will significantly enhance Renovos’ ability to further develop innovative technologies to support the ageing population as well as younger, active individuals.”

 

Bringing Renovos into the HS. portfolio, Founding Partner, Dr. James Somauroo said:

“It quickly became apparent that Renovos has the potential to fundamentally change the way extremely powerful and sometimes harmful drugs are given around bone. During the interview phase, we were impressed by the immense knowledge and expertise of the team and we’re now excited to join the journey and to use our networks to help take them to the next level.”

Renovos’ Renovite^Ⓡ is underpinned by decades of pre-clinical research at the University of Southampton and Professor Peter J.S. Smith, Director, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton has praised the innovation for its potential to create positive impact for patients and health systems of the future.

If you would like to find out more about Renovos please contact: enquiries@renovos.co.uk

 

Or you could read the news in one of the following publications:

• https://www.med-technews.com/news/biotech-start-up-receives-investment-from-research-charity-s/
• https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200114/Orthopaedic-Research-UK-announces-c2a3140000-investment-in-biotech-startup.aspx
• https://www.thehtn.co.uk/2020/01/14/orthopaedic-research-uk-announces-first-startup-investment/
• https://www.oruk.org/news/orthopaedic-research-uk-announces-first-startup-investment/
• https://futureworlds.com/renovos-announced-as-first-startup-to-secure-investment-from-uk-orthopaedic-research-charity/
• https://www.southampton.ac.uk/medicine/news/2020/01/24-renovos.page
• https://www.healthtechdigital.com/orthopaedic-research-uk-announces-first-startup-investment/
• http://obn.org.uk/News/Latest-News/entryid/2086
• https://www.uktechnews.info/2020/01/15/renovos-secures-140k-pre-seed-investment-from-orthopaedic-research-uk/
• https://www.science-park.co.uk/news/

The synthetic nanoclay gel scaffold effectively localises new bone formation (in red). It offers injectable delivery and retention of biologics, released only to in-growing cells for efficacy at ultra-low doses without side effects.

Picture credit: Renovos/University of Southampton

The magazine can be found here: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=640056&ver=html5&p=1

 

The Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference took place on Wednesday 11th September 2019 in Boston.

The organisers at Life Science Nation (LSN) invite all global early-stage companies across Biotech, Medtech, Diagnostics & Digital Health to apply for the RESI Innovation Challenge and hand-select the 40 most innovative applicants to present their technologies in an exhibition-style format throughout the full-day conference.

As an Innovation Challenge Finalist, Renovos gained exposure to investors, potential partners and other innovators from across the world.

Read more (external link) >

 

Working with Caltag Medsystems at BRS/BORS 2019 to spead the word about Renovos and our mesenchymal stem cell products.

Together with Hannah from Caltag Medsystems, Renovos participated in Bone Research Society and British Orthopaedic Research Society combined conference in Cardiff, where the team had the change to mingle with orthopaedic and musculoskeletal researchers and clinicians.

Renovos provides the wider research community with high quality, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from elderly and osteoarthritic donor cohorts.

These cells can be used to test and screen novel drugs and biomaterials as well as provide insights into the biology of the musculoskeletal system.

For more information on our products please read here (external link) >

 

Simon Sinclair

Previously in clinical trials at Merck & Co. Inc. and in medical affairs at DePuy Synthes and Johnson & Johnson, Simon is now working in safety and vigilance at RB. This wealth of experience provides Simon with the knowledge within the orthopedic and tissue regeneration fields that Renovos is within, allowing Simon to guide Renovos with its product development, safety testing, clinical trials, and commercialisation.

When asked why he decided to join Renovos – a regenerative medicine start up – Simon responded with “Having contributed to the world of orthopaedic innovation in previous roles, Renovos stood out to me as an exceptional example. What really motivated me to join Renovos was the prospect of realising that innovative potential and bringing safer, better and more cost-effective surgical solutions to patients worldwide.”

It is exciting for Renovos to welcome someone with such experience onto the team and we are looking forward to not only working with Simon but also to the advances we can make with his support.