Brinter Bio-Implant company joined the RegeneratOR’s Innovation Accelerator in 2023, located in the Regenerative Medicine Hub (RegenMed Hub), a rapidly growing regenerative medicine ecosystem based in the Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem.
Brinter is developing the world’s first personalized 3D bioprinted implants for meniscus repair using the company’s patented 3D bioprinting technology. The company’s bioprinters use a modular multi-material 3D bioprinting platform scalable from manual R&D to automated Bio-manufacturing. Their systems enable users to print the most comprehensive range of biomaterials and living cells.
The RegenMed Hub is the destination for regenerative medicine and is powered by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Innovation Quarter, and the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO). Physical presence in the ecosystem gives unprecedented access to strategic partners, in addition to state-of-the-art biomanufacturing equipment, cutting edge technologies, industry expertise, talent, training program, and many more resources.
Brinter is dedicated to pioneering the standard of care for cartilage injuries with 3D bioprinting. The priority focus is the meniscus. The meniscus acts as a shock absorber to cushion the lower part of the leg from the weight of the rest of the body. Prone to sports injuries and degeneration over time, the meniscus has poor inherent regenerative capabilities due to the limited blood supply and vascularization. Current meniscus repair strategies are limited in structure and material design for long-term stability and mechanical durability while promoting meniscal repair and reconstruction. The Brinter team uses 3D bioprinting as a fabrication technique to print both cells and biomaterials into personalized and more biologically relevant meniscus bio-implants.
“Joining the Innovation Accelerator to partner with the RegenMed Development Organization and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the driving forces behind the RegenMed Hub, will help Brinter achieve its commercial goals faster,” said Brinter CEO Tom Alapaattikoski.
To officially join the RegenMed Hub, Brinter secured space within the Innovation AcceleratOR, a program that supports innovation from research to commercialization for start ups, growth companies, and established companies developing emerging technologies in regenerative medicine.
Brinter was also an early supporter of the RegeneratOR’s Test Bed program, providing one of its modular 3D bioprinter platforms. The Test Bed was established to help regenerative medicine start-ups and growth and established companies with new and emerging technologies through access to advanced biomanufacturing equipment, talent, and programs to support prototyping and product development.
“We are appreciative of Brinter’s early support with the Test Bed and are excited to see them locate to the RegenMed Hub through the Innovation Accelerator, said Joshua Hunsberger, Ph.D., chief technology officer of ReMDO. With their technology and emerging applications, Brinter is exactly the type of company we hoped to attract.”
Anthony Atala, M.D., WFIRM director, credits Alapaattikoski for trusting the vision for the RegenMed Hub. “Brinter joins a strong roster of companies in the Innovation AcceleratOR,” Atala said. “We believe companies like Brinter and entrepreneurs like Tom will succeed in the regenerative medicine ecosystem being offered in this region. Together, we can advance the regenerative medicine field nationally.”
About the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is recognized as an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies, with many world firsts, including the development and implantation of the first engineered organ in a patient. Over 400 people at the Institute, the largest in the world, work on more than 40 different tissues and organs. A number of the basic principles of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine were first developed at the Institute. WFIRM researchers have successfully engineered replacement tissues and organs in all four categories – flat structures, tubular tissues, hollow organs and solid organs – and 15 different applications of cell/tissue therapy technologies, such as skin, urethras, cartilage, bladders, muscle, kidney, and vaginal organs, have been successfully used in human patients. The Institute, which is part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is located in the Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, and is driven by the urgent needs of patients. The Institute is making a global difference in regenerative medicine through collaborations with over 400 entities and institutions worldwide, through its government, academic and industry partnerships, its start-up entities, and through major initiatives in breakthrough technologies, such as tissue engineering, cell therapies, diagnostics, drug discovery, biomanufacturing, nanotechnology, gene editing and 3D printing.
About the RegenMed Development Organization
The mission of the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO) is to accelerate the discovery and translation of regenerative medicine therapies. ReMDO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that manages a clinical translation initiative that includes thought leaders, representatives from leading US research centers, government representatives, and companies of all sizes. ReMDO conducts research to de-risk technologies and speed up the translation of regenerative medicine to clinical practice and to the global market. ReMDO manages the world’s first and only professional organization dedicated solely to advancing the regenerative medicine field, the Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society (RMMS), and the Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Innovation Consortium (RegMIC), which manages a private-public partnership of industry and academic members focused on scaling up technologies.