Overview

Revascularization of ischemic tissue can be achieved using growth factors to recapitulate native developmental and wound healing cascades, and stimulate angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. These pro-vasculogenic growth factor cocktails can also increase the efficacy and translatability of regenerative therapeutics for clinical uses. We have developed an ultra-thin, surgically implanted hydrogel film for local delivery of biologics and pro-vascularization factors. We have also developed pro-vasculogenic cocktails that increase the efficacy and translatability of regenerative therapeutics for a wide range of clinical applications.

Market Opportunity

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major health burden and a contributing factor for myocardial infarction (heart attack), causing local ischemia and cell death in the heart wall.  Regenerative therapeutics provide a set of methods to restore function or replace ischemic tissue, however there remains a need in cardiac regenerative medicine and the tissue engineering art to promote localized new vessel growth and meet the metabolic demands of host or engineered tissue.

Innovation and Meaningful Advantages

The innovation provides a highly versatile system to promote vascularization in ischemic tissue. The system is composed of a fully defined, customizable hydrogel loaded with a potent cocktail of proangiogenic growth factors. The hydrogel's mechanical, degradation, and factor release behavior can be tailored to the specifications of any given target tissue or ischemic disease state. The growth factor cocktail, which includes a combination of VEGF, bFGF, Shh, PDGF, and/or IGF-1 can be optimized for maximal vessel density or size to meet the perfusion specifications required by the tissue.   The hydrogel system can be administered to ischemic tissue via intramyocardial injection or epicardial implantation.

Collaboration Opportunity

We are interested in exploring 1) startup opportunities with investors; 2) research collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies; and 3) licensing opportunities with pharmaceutical and drug delivery companies.

Principal Investigator

IP Information

US Publication US 2023-0020862 A1 Published January 19, 2023

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