csiro and ahz

A new pulse for healthy heart materials

Allied Healthcare Group will soon launch CardioCel®, its first product using their patented tissue engineering process, which can reconstruct heart valves.

27 August 2013
A Researchers in Business project with CSIRO has enabled Allied Healthcare Group (AHG) to investigate additional applications for its new product CardioCel®, with promising results.
Allied Healthcare Group is an Australian SME that invests in next generation technologies for the healthcare sector. A key focus for AHG is their research and development program, through which the company continues to improve and grow its product and service offerings.
An opportunity to grow its latest product, CardioCel®, and explore new areas of stem cell delivery in cardiovascular treatments prompted the company to engage CSIRO experts.
CSIRO research program leader, Jerome Werkmeister, and research scientist, Aditya Vashi, joined AHG through the Enterprise Connect Researchers in Business program to assess the suitability of the CardioCel® for use in stem cell therapy in heart failure patients.
The project involved comparing the performance of CardioCel® against another commonly used material.
“The results have shown that CardioCel® enhances the ability for tissues to repair and that it is well-suited for cardiovascular cell therapy,” said Dr Werkmeister.
AHG’s Chief Scientific Officer, David Rhodes, said that the results showed that the novel ADAPT engineering process used to prepare CardioCel provides a superior tissue platform for growing stem cells which could open new doors for the company.
“There is the potential to utilise our material in other areas of stem cell delivery as well, for example it might help speed the recovery when used in the repair of knee joints or in the rebuilding of vessels,” he said.
“While this still needs further research, these results are promising and we have the grounds for exploring it further.”
“Through combining AHG’s expertise with that of CSIRO, we see the potential for additional programs with CSIRO down the track. There are other techniques we would like to explore.”
CSIRO’s SME Engagement Centre is ready to work with Australian SMEs who want to use science to gain competitive advantage, improve profitability and help their business grow.
The Enterprise Connect Researchers in Business program, an Australian Government initiative providing funding to support the placement of researchers directly into businesses to help them develop and implement new commercial ideas.

http://csiro.au/en/Portals/Partner/SME-Engagement/Allied-Healthcare-Group.aspx