MZ Solution Advances Development of ‘Banseolsang Cartilage Graft’ Based on Heterogeneous Tissue Biomaterials

MGeneSolution is expanding its business into the field of regenerative medical devices.

On the 4th, MGeneSolution announced that it is promoting the development of a ‘meniscus cartilage implant’ by utilizing its know-how in xenogeneic organ development and tissue engineering technology.

According to MGeneSolution, this implant is made based on biomaterials derived from xenogeneic tissues and can replace damaged meniscus cartilage.

The manufacturing process involves extracting the meniscus cartilage from pigs, which have a shape and collagen structure similar to human cartilage, then removing cells and lipids that cause immune rejection. Afterwards, a decellularization process that minimizes damage to the extracellular matrix (ECM) is applied to complete the implant.

The company stated, “Due to aging, the number of patients with cartilage diseases such as arthritis is continuously increasing,” and explained, “Contrary to the conventional belief that these cartilage disease patients are mainly elderly, the number of arthritis patients is significantly increasing among young and middle-aged groups due to causes such as obesity, poor posture and lifestyle habits, and trauma during leisure sports.” They added, “According to the market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global osteoarthritis treatment market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8.7%, reaching $11 billion (approximately 14.3 trillion KRW) by 2025.”

In cases of meniscus cartilage tears, current treatments include suturing to preserve tissue and maintain function, and allogeneic meniscus transplantation. In many cases, suturing is not possible due to significant meniscus loss caused by long-term stress. Additionally, the main purpose is to reduce patient pain and alleviate symptoms rather than repair or reconstruct. For allogeneic meniscus transplantation, the number of allografts is very limited, and there are potential risks such as infection by biological pathogens and immune rejection caused by immune responses.

A company representative said, “Overseas, Menaflex (by Ivy Sports Medicine), which is based on xenogeneic collagen raw materials, has received FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval and is used in patients. Recently, Actifit by Orteq Sports Medicine and NUsurface by Active Implants, which are polyurethane-based artificial meniscus implants, have been developed, approved, and used in patients.”

They continued, “However, these products face clinical application difficulties due to issues such as insufficient durability, low fusion rates, synovitis induction, and high clinical failure rates. Our company is developing a product that significantly improves safety and efficacy compared to existing products by addressing these issues, aiming to complete clinical trials within five years.”

MGeneSolution plans to expand its medical device-related business facilities and hire additional specialized personnel for rapid product commercialization, and will conduct joint research and development with specialized medical device companies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.