Summary
- Co.don is a German company with over 20 years of experience.
- Leading manufacturer of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of cartilage defects.
- Spherox can repair cartilage defects of the knee of up to 10 cm² in a minimally invasive procedure.
- Phase III clinical trial allowed from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) in July 2017; green light from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
While tissue engineering therapies are still not widely accepted in the USA. Treatment for cartilage defects is already available to European citizens.
In this therapy healthy cartilage cells are taken from the patient’s own cartilage as well as a blood sample. This is cultivated in a laboratory outside the body using CO.DON’s innovative biological techniques to create cartilage, which is then transplanted back into the defect area. Following the EMA approval, Spherox is currently the only authorised advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP)
In comparison with other procedures, patients experience less pain and are more agile. They regenerate faster and are even able to resume work or physical training. The risk to get osteoarthritis is also reduced. The cost of the tissue engineering is 4000€ and inclusive the procedure in hospital 10000-12000€. In Germany the therapy is covered by the health insurance since 2007. The cost for Spherox is similar to its competitor using artificial transplant, but patients receiving Spherox treatment experience much better acceptance and higher healing rate.
The company is valuated at 133 Mio. € or 162 Mio $. The biggest shareholder is Prof. Hans B. Bauerfeind (26%). He is also the owner of the Bauerfeind AG, a company with over 200 Mio. € in sales. In 2018 Co.don invested 10 Mio. € in new machines and facilities to expand Spherox to European countries.
So far this therapy is available in 200 clinics and has been successfully implemented in over 12000 cases. Phase III for Spherox was completed in 2017 and since then it has been recommended for usage by NICE (UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).
In conclusion:
- Spherox study records is superior to classical artificial transplants.
- Co.don is the leader in the admission process with very solid performance.
- In the near future, German technology will positively contribute to the world tissue engineering standard and provide solutions for people with cartilage issues.
Disclosure: I am/we are long Co.don.