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BIOFELT ™

Situation:            
Concordia, having successfully developed a unique fiber structure for a major medical device manufacturer, decides to aggressively pursue other opportunities in the tissue engineering scaffolds.

Results:
BIOFELT™

BIOFELT ™ Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Concordia Fibers' involvement in tissue engineering scaffolds is a direct extension of the work done by D. Robert Langer's laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Albany International starting in 1986.   These scaffolds were developed from absorbable polymers utilizing extensive textile processing expertise to create non-woven substrates for tissue engineering applications.   Early development relationships were forged with Dr. Charles Vacanti at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Dr. John Mayer at Children's Hospital in Boston, researchers at Advanced Tissue Sciences in La Jolla, California, and other leading institutions in Europe and Asia.

Concordia Fibers' purchased the assets related to producing these scaffolds from Albany International Research Company in early 2005 and initiated the BIOFELT(TM) brand.   BIOFELT(TM) describes a range of absorbable 3D non-woven felt scaffolds that have successfully demonstrated the ability to rapidly grow cells and form an organized 3D tissue structure.   The main benefits of Concordia's non-woven felt process over woven and knit structures are the high porosity factor (>97%) and excellent flexibility and softness.   BIOFELT(TM) is presently being used by a number of leading investigators and biomedical research institutions around the world for various advanced tissue engineering applications.

Concordia's standard BIOFELT(TM) is produced from polyglycolic acid (PGA) in 20 cm x 30 cm felts.   The thickness can be specified from 1 to 5 mm and the bulk density from 25 to 100 mg/cc.   Finished scaffolds are packaged in vacuum-sealed moisture barrier foil pouches.

Concordia also produces custom orders of BIOFELT(TM) non-woven felts made from other polymers such as poly-L-lactide (PLLA) or co-polymers of PGA and PLLA, or blends of various absorbable polymer fibers.   Concordia can process customer supplied resins and fibers, or source specific materials from leading suppliers of absorbable polymers.   Additionally, Concordia can produce felts that contain woven and/or knit scrims to achieve additional strength, while maintaining the advantage of high porosity values afforded by the non-woven component.