CartiHeal receives additional funding to launch cartilage implant

TEL AVIV – Medical device company CartiHeal Ltd has raised $10 million to accelerate product development of its leading product, the “Agili-C” cartilage implant, as well as support ongoing clinical studies for the implant. Half of the funding came from new investor, Elron, and the remainder from previous investors, Accelmed and Access Medical Ventures.

Agili-C is a single step arthroscopically placed implant for repairing cartilage and osteochondral defects. Agili-C(TM) has the ability to regenerate true hyaline cartilage without growth factors, stem cells or cell expansion techniques, as demonstrated in human and animal studies. These results have been confirmed by histological analysis performed by NAMSA, an independent research laboratory. The Agili-C(TM) is EU CE marked and CartiHeal is currently conducting post-approval clinical studies at leading centers in Europe.

Over 1.2 million patients undergo cartilage repair annually worldwide, and common treatments such as microfracture and osteochondral grafting do not regenerate hyaline cartilage. Agili-C(TM) offers the potential for healing the defect with hyaline rather than "hyaline-like" fibrocartilage, possibly preventing the need for future joint replacement surgery in these patients. 

"In our post-marketing studies, initial clinical outcomes are very promising. Biopsies and MRIs show the regeneration of hyaline cartilage as early as 6-12 months following implantation. This is nothing short of a technological breakthrough," reports Nir Altschuler, Founder and CEO of CartiHeal. "We welcome our new investor and believe Elron's extensive experience will assist us to become a leading player in the field of cartilage regeneration."