Researchers at the Institute for Health Research and Innovation (i3S) of the University of Porto have developed an injectable fetal biomaterial for intervertebral disc regeneration and treatment of low back pain and have already filed a patent for the product.
A University of Porto Institute statement this Friday clarified that a team from “startup” Fetaldisc has applied for a patent for “the first injectable fetal biomaterial for intervertebral disc regeneration.”
Degeneration of the intervertebral disc causes low back pain, which is the main cause of disability in Portugal that occurs with age.
Treatment options include physical therapy, medications, or very invasive surgery, but in most cases there are no long-term solutions.
In the course of the study, scientists used animal waste, which is usually burned, and revealed the presence of pro-regenerative components in the intervertebral discs of the fetus.
“After processing in the laboratory, these tissues have a great regenerative potential, meaning we have confirmed the reappearance of proteins typical of a healthy environment in disc cells cultured in biomaterials of bovine embryos,” the researcher and leader said in a statement cited in a statement. “startup” Fetaldisc.
According to Joana Caldeira, the biomaterial developed also has “the ability to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels,” a process that is associated with the intensity of pain, mobility and quality of life of patients.
The technology used “is based on the processing of fetal tissue in order to eliminate the cells existing in it, while preserving most of the remaining biochemical and structural components characteristic of the stages of embryonic development.”
At a later stage, the researchers proceeded to dehydrate at low temperatures “to obtain a long service life of the material in question” and “to preserve the storage process” in order to subsequently introduce it “in the form of suspended particles”.
With the injectable material, “invasive surgery is eliminated for patients with low back pain, and intervention, recovery, and hospitalization times are reduced.”
“This biomaterial also has the advantage that it can be produced in a simple, safe, affordable and scalable way,” says the researcher.
Joana Caldeira also points out that the earlier an intervention is carried out, the greater should be its potential to “provide a preventive effect.”
“The team also suggests that this biomaterial could have broader applications in degenerative cartilage diseases that affect other joints, namely the knee, hip and shoulder,” the University of Porto Institute added.
Under the European Commission’s TechEU Women programme, the startup has received €75,000 in funding to enable it to test the biomaterial in preclinical trials and solidify its business model.
The European program aims to promote women’s entrepreneurship in technology. This year, the initiative has funded 134 technology companies, seven of which are based in Portugal.