But news is shortly expected of the first humans to be healed with ChondroColl, developed by researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Tissue Engineering Research Group (TERG), and the Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (AMBER) Centre, led by Professor Fergal O’Brien.
They came to the rescue of Beyoncé, an injured 16-month-old thoroughbred filly.
She was in University College Dublin’s Veterinary Hospital for treatment of large areas of damage in both the left and right stifle (knee) joints, as a result of a disease known as osteochondritis dissecans (a joint disorder in which cracks form in the articular cartilage, and the underlying subchondral bone).
The outcome for such patients is often poor, and the condition may lead to euthanasia of the animal in severe cases.
However, David Stack and Florent David of UCD’s Veterinary Hospital removed the unstable osteochondral fragments, and multi-layered ChondroColl scaffolds were implanted, providing a template for new cartilage and bone to be formed.
The procedure was very successful and since surgery, Beyoncé has resumed training and will compete in show jumping events in the coming months.
ChondroColl is composed of layers of collagen, hydroxyapatite and hyaluronic acid, materials native to articular joints, and is designed to direct the body’s own cells to regenerate damaged joints, thus presenting a potential solution that can benefit patients worldwide.
Professor Fergal O’Brien, Head of the ChondroColl research team, said, “We are delighted with the outcomes from both pre-clinical studies and particularly with the results from the Beyoncé case.
“Our hope for the future is this technology will benefit human patients and through our spinout company SurgaColl Technologies, this is very close to becoming a reality with cases anticipated in the coming months.”
ChondroColl was also used in conjunction with the School of Veterinary Medicine to heal defects in goats.
It emerged from research funded by Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Health Research Board.
A high-potential start-up company from RCSI, SurgaColl Technologies, are currently bringing the technology to market.
Their first product, a bone regeneration scaffold (HydroxyColl) is already CE approved.
It is a bone graft substitute that offers bone healing equivalent to a patient’s own bone when used as a medical implant in treatment of bone defects.