RevBio, Inc., announced that it has been awarded the opportunity to conduct an in vivo research experiment on the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory (ISS National Lab). This experiment will examine the biomaterial’s osteoconductivity when used in a microgravity environment where bone density and the ability to regenerate new bone tissue is significantly compromised.
“Given the competitive nature of this award, we are extremely excited about the opportunity once again to conduct research onboard the International Space Station,” said Brian Hess, CEO of RevBio. “There is no other scientific laboratory like it since the data generated from this experiment may one day help show that Tetranite is effective in treating bone fractures and stabilizing orthopaedic implants in patients who suffer from osteoporosis.”
This research builds upon a prior in vitro experiment the company conducted on the ISS National Lab which measured the biocompatibility and proliferation of osteoblast cells in the presence of Tetranite. Osteoblast cells are responsible for producing new bone in the body. This experiment was funded by a prior grant from CASIS (manager of the ISS National Lab) and Boeing through the MassChallenge start up accelerator program. In this new in vivo experiment, the bone healing process will be examined in live rodents using a calvarial, or skull-based, defect model. A side-by-side experiment will be conducted on Earth to examine the differences between healing under both normal and osteoporotic conditions induced by the micro-gravity environment of outer space.
Giuseppe Intini, DDS, PhD, Associate Professor of Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry at the University of Pittsburgh, and faculty member at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will serve as the principal investigator for this study. “Tetranite is a uniquely osteoconductive biomaterial that is also adhesive and injectable,” said Professor Intini, who studies the biology of bone. “If we are able to show that this novel scaffold can facilitate bone repair in space, new methods may be developed to treat or prevent bone fractures in osteoporotic patients on Earth as well.”
About RevBio, Inc.
RevBio, Inc., formerly known as LaunchPad Medical, a clinical stage medical device company engaged in the development and commercialization of a patented, synthetic, injectable, self-setting, and osteoconductive bone adhesive biomaterial called Tetranite®. The company is initially developing this technology for use in the dental market, and recently initiated two clinical studies for the use of Tetranite to immediately stabilize dental implants placed in sites that lack sufficient primary stability. The company is also working to develop adhesive applications for the broader orthopedics market. RevBio’s Tetranite technology is not yet approved for commercial use. RevBio operates out of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center located in Lowell, MA, where the company manufactures, develops, and tests its products.
