Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology Changes Awkward Name, Takes The Biostage

Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology(HART) announced that it has changed its name to Biostage, effective April 1. It will now trade under the BSTG symbol. The company was spun off by Harvard Bioscience(HBIO) in November 2013.  Why change the name?

The name change reflects the company’s broad commitment and expertise in pioneering the development of bioengineered organ implants for the esophagus, bronchus and trachea. It also eliminates market confusion with its former parent company from which it was spun-out in November 2013.

Jim McGorry, CEO, commented, “The Biostage™ name change reflects the evolution of our focus from commercializing bioreactors and research tools to the pioneering development of bioengineered organ implants for the esophagus, bronchus, and trachea. We have changed our company name to Biostage to better communicate and differentiate our new Cellframe™ technology and strategic direction.”

The Biostage name embodies the company’s “biotechnology” focus on bioengineered implants that provide critical “staging” for the body’s innate healing processes with its new Cellframe™ technology platform. Mr. McGorry added, “Cellframe employs a process in which the patient’s own stem cells are taken from a simple adipose/fat tissue biopsy, the cells are first isolated, expanded and then seeded onto a proprietary biocompatible scaffold that mimics the natural dimensions of the damaged organ. After incubation in our proprietary bioreactor, the Cellspan implant is ready to be implanted. Cellspan implants are designed to deliver the necessary cues for triggering, guiding, and modulating the regenerative process.

“Biostage is the result of a nearly two-year corporate transformation that centered on people, research, and technologies. We put in place a deeply experienced management team and board of directors to effectively lead our team of cell biology experts, materials scientists, and engineers to develop and pursue a clearly-defined set of research, regulatory, and commercialization goals. Biostage has also expanded its research partnership base to cost-effectively add technology resources critical to our success. Collectively, these efforts allow Biostage to pursue a new approach to restoring function to damaged organs for patients who deserve better clinical solutions and improved outcomes.”

The old name was awkward, this is certainly a cleaner name. Of course, the fact still remains that the company is quite far away from bringing a product to market after setbacks in its trachea implant program.

Biostage’s Initial IND to Focus on Cellspan Esophageal Implant
Biostage’s Cellframe technology features a biocompatible scaffold seeded with a recipient’s own stem cells to create Cellspan™ implants for treatment of life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, trachea, and bronchus. Key large-animal data for Biostage’s Cellspan esophageal and other implants was first announced in November 2015.

Based on its preclinical data, Biostage identified life-threatening conditions of the esophagus as the initial clinical application to advance its Cellspan esophageal implant. Biostage plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in late 2016, seeking to initiate clinical trials in humans.

Biostage is currently expanding its preclinical testing of its Cellspan esophageal implants in collaboration with Mayo Clinic to support its planned IND application. The company anticipates providing an update on its preclinical research collaboration mid-second quarter 2016.