Osiris and Athrex Sign Product Development Deal for Cartilage Product

Osiris Therapeutics Inc., a cellular and regenerative medicine company focused on developing and marketing products to treat conditions in wound care, orthopedics and sports medicine, has entered into an exclusive commercial and development partnership for its cartilage product, Cartiform, with Arthrex Inc. Arthrex is a medical device company specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine.

“We are excited to enter this strategic partnership with Arthrex, the clear industry leader in sports medicine, as well as in foot and ankle devices and instrumentation, to address an unmet need in cartilage repair that demands an innovative cellular regenerative medical solution,” said Dwayne Montgomery, Osiris’ general manager of orthopedics and sports medicine. Cartiform, a viable chondral allograft, offers a unique solution to repair and restore damaged cartilage in the knee, foot, ankle and other major joints. Cartiform has demonstrated promising clinical outcomes.”

The cartilage repair market represents a significant opportunity, with up to 500,000 patients needing treatment in the United States per year, according to figures cited by Osiris. Cartilage has limited ability to self-repair and the current standard of care, microfracture or bone marrow stimulation, remains unsatisfactory. According to Osiris, Cartiform combines the clinical advantages of fresh stored allograft with the logistical and delivery advantages of non-viable, point-of-care implants.

“Arthrex is excited for the opportunity to partner with Osiris on the commercialization of the Cartiform technology. Arthrex has the product development and distribution capabilities to train and educate surgeons about the unique characteristics of Cartiform and to help them better treat their patients,” said David Shepard, orthobiologics director of Arthrex.

The agreement provides Arthrex with exclusive commercial distribution rights to Cartiform. Osiris will be responsible for the manufacturing, continued research and product improvement activities. The responsibilities related to the design and conduct of future clinical development programs will be shared by both organizations.

Cartiform is a chondral allograft containing viable chondrocytes, chondrogenic growth factors, and extracellular matrix proteins within the intact architecture of healthy hyaline cartilage. Cartiform promotes articular cartilage repair to treat focal chondral defects. Cartiform combines the safety and proven success of fresh osteochondral allografts with ease of use resulting from Osiris’ proprietary cryopreservation technology. Cartiform is stored at -80 degrees Celsius with a two-year shelf life and can be implanted in a single-step procedure.

Osiris is based in Columbia, Md. Arthrex is located in Naples, Fla.