FDA Clears BioTime’s Regenerative Wound Management Technology

Alameda, Calif.-based BioTime Inc. has earned 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its class II medical device Premvia. It is the first FDA-cleared member of BioTime’s Hystem family of hydrogels, which are designed to mimic the natural structures of the human body’s extracellular matrix. According to the FDA clearance, the product is indicated for the management of wounds including: partial thickness, full-thickness, tunneling wounds, pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, chronic vascular ulcers, donor skin graft sites, post-Moh’s surgery, post-laser surgery, podiatric wounds, wound dehiscence, abrasions, lacerations, second degree burns, skin tears and draining wounds.

The global market for aesthetic and reconstructive surgery was estimated to exceed $6 billion annually and is composed of many distinct market segments. Premvia is expected to serve a subset of these segments.

“We plan to rapidly complete the review and implementation of the requisite quality and manufacturing documentation in advance of introducing the product to the market. Additionally the company will undertake selected clinical studies to further refine the target market niches, and following that, will lay our final plans for associated marketing initiatives and strategies,” said Chief Commercial Officer William Tew, Ph.D. “Hystem-based products such as Premvia and Renevia (the latter anticipated to begin its pivotal clinical trial in Europe later this year) are anticipated to provide the company with opportunities for significant near-term revenue, while balancing the long-term opportunities created by the Company’s pluripotent stem cell technology platform, which provides the potential for the industrial-scale manufacture of all of the cellular components of the human body. Together, these matrices and cellular building blocks provide a combination of technology platforms that we believe can lead the industry in the revolution underway commonly called ‘regenerative medicine.’”

“Premvia utilizes unique patented technology that allows the crosslinking of collagen and hyaluronic acid and is compatible with cells and tissues,” said Gregory Keller, M.D., FACS, clinical professor at the University of California – Los Angeles, and co-director of the UCLA/ American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery facial plastic surgery fellowship. “I am excited by the prospects of using Premvia in treating wounds resulting from a number of the approved indications in general aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.”

The clearance of Premvia in the United States will provide BioTime with a foundation for the development of even more advanced bioactive and cell-matrix combination products. The pivotal trial of Renevia (another Hystem-based product) is expected to begin later this year in Europe, where BioTime is seeking a CE mark for the use of Renevia in combination with cells for the purpose of lipotransfer in the treatment of HIV-related lipoatrophy. BioTime also is in the process of developing Hystem technology for use in formulating a number of products manufactured from pluripotent stem cells using the Company’s proprietary Purestem technology. Combination products of Hystem-based hydrogels with Purestem cell lines will require future human clinical trials.

BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product development in the field of regenerative medicine.