Projects

Avecia

The Problem:

Existing cell-based wound healing products are either autologous epithelial products or matrix
seeded with allogeneic fibroblasts. These products have several problems, including: scarring and
lack of functionality in healed skin, high COGS - limited economies of scale, no suitable products
for acute care, and QC and reproducibility issues.

The Technology:

The University of Durham Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine have identified
the cells (DMSC) within the skin that are capable of providing optimal wound healing. The advantages
of DMSC are their immuno-privileged status and ability to:

  • enhance healing
  • prevent scar formation
  • promote the formation of skin appendages, which are vital to the functions of skin.

These features, plus their multipotency, make them ideal components of tissue-engineered products.

The Partners:

  • Avecia Biologics - major biopharmaceutical manufacturer (Billingham)
  • Durham University - stem cell biologists (Durham)
  • University of Brighton - translation research experts in wound healing (Brighton)
  • Cels - a bioscience business development agency (Newcastle)
  • Smith & Nephew - major medical device company (York)


The consortium combines the bioprocessing expertise of Avecia with the stem cell expertise of the
University of Durham to develop bioprocesses for bulk production of DMSC. Brighton are developing
means of incorporating the DMSC into wound healing scaffolds, whilst Smith & Nephew are
ensuring that prototypes are fit for clinical use and manufacture.

Aims:
The collaboration had a number of aims: developing bioprocesses to produce Dermal Mesenchymal Stem Cells (DMSC) in sufficient numbers, with appropriate functionality and quality for tissue engineering applications, and at an acceptable cost for the final goods; Demonstrating the utility of the bioprocess in a tissue engineering product for wound healing; and generating a platform technology that forms the basis for three product groups: (1) bulk cells for cutaneous wound healing, (2) bulk cells for general tissue reconstruction, and (3) robust cells for research use, such as high throughput screening (HTS). Moreover, DMSCs produced using this bioprocessing technology would generate health economic cost savings by increasing the speed of healing and by providing a lower cost-base product.


The Benefits of the Collaboration:
The consortium is a multidisciplinary team in which each member possesses complimentary expertise applicable to the bioprocessing of tissue-engineered products. Being industrially driven, the project also has the market awareness to develop bioprocesses that benefit a range of tissue-engineered products. The complexity of the science, issues in bioprocessing, unclear regulatory pathway to market, and reimbursement issues, mean that without the consortium the project would not be undertaken entirely in the private sector. Without this consortium it is unlikely that the discovery made by Durham University would be taken through to commercial application.