About Replication Medical
Replication Medical is a company devoted to the research and development of new techniques to alleviate pain and disability caused by degenerative diseases of the spinal column. Founded in 2000, Replication Medical uses its proprietary hydrogel technology to create novel solutions.
The company’s hydrogels are unique in the marketplace because they are composed of a chemistry that can be tailored to the needs of a given implant application without the water solubility and residue formation of other hydrogels. Replication Medical also credits this technology with an extremely high bio-compatibility and shape memory. Additionally, the hydrogels used exhibit excellent tensile strength and elasticity even when placed under significant compression forces. All of these qualities make the company’s hydrogels excellent for use in the treatment of diseases of the spine.
Because of the promise and successes that products based on this material have found in clinical trials, Replication Medical received $15 million in funding from Abbott Spine to continue research into this area. The company has also received aid from the U.S. government in the form of a Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project grant valued at almost $250,000 to allay costs expended in the development of Replication Medical’s GelStix™ Nucleus Augmentation device.
Much of the work and study that Replication Medical has invested into hydrogel applications has gone into the creation of implants (both surgically implanted and implanted through less invasive procedures) that are biomimetic in nature. In addition to these devices that mimic the body’s own tissues, Replication Medical has been able to design products to protect patient’s blood vessels from damage following back surgery. EnGuard™ and GelGuard™ barrier products are intended to be used during surgery to protect critical blood vessels in the anterior column, and to prevent posterior scar adhesions respectively. The GelGuard™ product is not available for sale in the United States and is sold in Europe and throughout the rest of the world.
The company’s hydrogels are unique in the marketplace because they are composed of a chemistry that can be tailored to the needs of a given implant application without the water solubility and residue formation of other hydrogels. Replication Medical also credits this technology with an extremely high bio-compatibility and shape memory. Additionally, the hydrogels used exhibit excellent tensile strength and elasticity even when placed under significant compression forces. All of these qualities make the company’s hydrogels excellent for use in the treatment of diseases of the spine.
Because of the promise and successes that products based on this material have found in clinical trials, Replication Medical received $15 million in funding from Abbott Spine to continue research into this area. The company has also received aid from the U.S. government in the form of a Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project grant valued at almost $250,000 to allay costs expended in the development of Replication Medical’s GelStix™ Nucleus Augmentation device.
Much of the work and study that Replication Medical has invested into hydrogel applications has gone into the creation of implants (both surgically implanted and implanted through less invasive procedures) that are biomimetic in nature. In addition to these devices that mimic the body’s own tissues, Replication Medical has been able to design products to protect patient’s blood vessels from damage following back surgery. EnGuard™ and GelGuard™ barrier products are intended to be used during surgery to protect critical blood vessels in the anterior column, and to prevent posterior scar adhesions respectively. The GelGuard™ product is not available for sale in the United States and is sold in Europe and throughout the rest of the world.