Tissue Regenix attracts £3m investment

Tissue Regenix, the Leeds-based developer of tissue products that regenerate inside the body, has successfully completed a £3m financing round.

The investment will enable Tissue Regenix to speed up the rate at which its products enter clinical trials, said John Fisher, the company’s chairman.

Founded in May 2006, Tissue Regenix is a spinout from Leeds University that exploits technologies in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. According to Tissue Regenix, surgeons would be able to use its products instead of waiting for donor tissue or tissue harvested from the patient. For example, treated vascular tissue could replace a damaged blood vessel.

The Tissue Regenix products, which are made from animal tissue, are said to behave and function just like the host tissue because they are a compatible with all blood and cell types, they do not calcify and they have similar biomechanical properties to the replaced tissue which helps them function as soon as they are implanted.

In addition, Tissue Regenix says the advanced tissue is not allergenic or immunogenic because the collagen has a similar architectural structure to human tissue, and because its processing technology removes cellular material while maintaining the essential extra cellular matrix proteins.

At present, Tissue Regenix is carrying out pre-clinical benchmarking and regulatory work in preparation for clinical trials.