Australia has an active regenerative medicine industry, with internationally recognised research, clinical trials and clinical centres. Fields of regenerative medicine will continue to merge and expand, potentially treating many disease conditions and improving health for a variety of diseases and health conditions.
The field of regenerative medicine holds the promise of regenerating damaged tissues and organs in the body by replacing or stimulating the body’s own repair mechanisms to heal tissues and organs. Stem cell therapies are the most well-known arm of regenerative medicine, however the field also includes other cell therapies (such as CAR T cell therapies), genetic therapies, nanotechnology and biomedical engineering, and reprogramming of cells and tissue.
The study of stem cell biology has progressed to the point that scientists are able to harness the pluripotent abilities of embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The process, called stem cell differentiation, utilises the right concoction of growth factors and proteins, applied at the appropriate concentrations, at key points of time intercepting the stem cell developmental trajectory to coerce stem cells to develop into a cell type of choice. Scientists are hopefully not far off applying an extension of this process to develop stem cells into organs and tissue in a process termed tissue engineering.
With nearly 40 companies in Australia today developing products, the sector comprises 1200 researchers across 12 universities and 45 medical research centres. The most recent outlook reports predict RM to generate $6 billion in annual revenue and 6,000 new jobs for Australia by 2035.
How Griffith Hack can help you
Some examples of where our experts can help protect your innovation include:
- Stem cell differentiation and expansion inventions
- Tissue engineering and medical implants
- CAR T-cell therapies, gene editing technologies including CRISPR/Cas9 and ZFNs
- Due diligence
- Freedom to operate
- Landscape mapping
- IP auditing
