BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc.
Most scientists hope their research will benefit people someday but very few of them actually leave their lab to bring their findings to the market.
Almost a decade ago, one dental faculty member did just that. In 2006, a company founded and headed by a former Harvard researcher announced the launch of its new product designed to save people’s teeth from deterioration while in surgery for chronic periodontitis. “In academics, you can take a discovery so far, but it is hard to get it passed the bench top research because at that point you start to need a significant amount of money and resources to do more of the clinical development and deal with the FDA,” tells Dr. Samuel Lynch, CEO and president of BioMimetics Therapeutics Inc. At that point, he was attracted to the industry because he wanted to make a difference. “I felt frustrated that we could only take the research so far, and not get it to patients,” he says. After a five-year stint at a large pharmaceutical company, Dr. Lynch tapped into his entrepreneurial spirit and founded his company. Since then, BioMimetics Therapeutics Inc. has been able to produce different versions of a non-injectable product for treating bone loss, fractures, as well as that is also used in the field of sports medicine. “It’s been a very exciting and successful journey,” says Dr. Lynch.
Early beginnings of research lead to innovation
In early 2001, at the beginning stages of research in tissue engineering and regeneration, Dr. Lynch obtained funding from the federal government in early 2001 to launch his new product into the market. Once he received the government’s stamp of approval, along with patents for his product line, he was finally able to bring his findings to the clinic. When he sold the rights to the first product—a granular wet material that sticks when packed into bone defects—for roughly $80 million, BioMimetics reinvested the money into research and development to expand the product line. “It was another decision to make-whether or not to develop the periodontal facial surgery product or, sell it and use the money to put into the development of additional product. We are now focusing on the bigger market of orthopedic spine and sports medicine products,” says Dr. Lynch. The company’s next product going to clinical trials this fall is an augment injectable bone graph, which is a putty-like material with a consistency similar to toothpaste. “It can be injected into the skin to a fracture site, for example in an emergency room setting to improve the healing of fractures,” he says. Despite the current state of the economy, BioMimetics executives say they have a loyal and strong group of investors. But it has been a challenge. “We have cut our rate of growth, but we have not had to downsize,” he says.
In transition, moving forward
Despite operating in a tough economic climate, the biotech company is continuing to move forward with its new product line. “These products are highly-regulated. It’s in a new drug device combination product so we’ve spent the past four years in the development stages for the ortheoarthritic product,” says Dr. Lynch. The biotech company is set to finish clinical trials for the lead product—foot and ankle fusion treatment-this fall and will have approval in Canada by this year and the States next year to sell the product for foot and ankle fusion,” says Dr. Lynch adding the company hopes have approval ready to launch the product in Europe. “People who would use that product are patients with long standing degenerative osteoarthritis, whereas our fracture repair products will be used more broadly for trauma,” he says forwarding thinking.
Shifting from a scientific to a commercial mindset
BioMimetics is in transition from being product development-focused to a leading commercial organization, which executives say is a challenge and an exciting opportunity. “It shows the growth of the company into a fully integrated biotechnology company, which historically has been a huge challenge in our industry because of the focus on product development and the focused skill set that it requires,” says Dr. Lynch adding that it is a challenge for those scientific companies to one that has more of a commercial mind set.
For more information on BioMimetics Therapeutics Inc., visit http://biomimetics.com/about.htm.
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