Bioactive wound healing, bioaesthetics and biosurgery: three pillars of product development

Abstract

Tissue regeneration specialist company Organogenesis Inc. was one of the first biotech companies formed. Incorporated in 1985, the company was originally a spin-off from a research program at MIT. For the first 10–15 years, Organogenesis was heavily research based, but then gradually moved into development. The company's flagship product is Apligraf® – a living, bilayered skin construct with two FDA-approved indications: diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers. As Apligraf neared the market, it was necessary to ‘graft’ a manufacturing capability onto the company. As a consequence the company moved south from Massachusetts's cradle of biotechnology to Canton, MA, USA. Having experienced many of the highs and lows that characterize the biotech industry, the company is now consolidating its position as a center of expertise in commercializing living, cell-based products. The company has now built a sales, marketing and reimbursement team with the unique skill set to integrate novel technology into the US healthcare system. President & Chief Executive Officer Geoff MacKay takes great pride in the leading role that Organogenesis is playing in ushering in the field of tissue regeneration. Here, he discusses with Regenerative Medicine's Elisa Manzotti the ‘three pillars’ of the Organogenesis pipeline: bioactive wound healing, bioaesthetics and biosurgery. He focuses both on the rewards, and the trials and tribulations, of the commercialization of living cell-based technology.