Dr Brent Allan, Dr Giuseppe Luongo & Professor Ming Hao Zheng

On Tuesday 7 August 2018, Australian regenerative medicine company Orthocell (ASX:OCC) sponsored and participated in an industry forum, Advances in Osseointegration & Implantology Symposium, in partnership with The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Oral Health Centre of Western Australia. It was the first in a series of CelGro® collagen membrane education and training events to be led by the Orthocell team.  The next event will be held in Milan from 28 September 2018 and will be undertaken in collaboration with Dr Massimo Simion, a widely published and respected expert in oral medicine and member of Orthocell’s MSAB and Bimar Ortho, Orthocell’s exclusive distributor for Italy.

For investors and supporters of Orthocell, it’s a sure sign that the Company’s commercialisation strategy is in healthy shape. Bringing together a brains trust of globally respected leaders in dentistry, to unpack and examine the potential of products such as CelGro™, is central to the team’s key opinion leader (KOL) led approach to developing its products and reaching more patients around the world.

According to Orthocell Managing Director, Paul Anderson, there was no shortage of interest and engagement in the room on Tuesday. “Oral surgeons are always on the lookout for innovative devices that improve patient outcomes and Orthocell is well positioned, with its best in class collagen scaffold, CelGro™, to gain significant market traction across key target markets,” he said. “We were delighted by the significant level of interest at the symposium with more than 90 oral surgeons and dentists attending and actively participating in the discussion.”

It was quite a line-up of experts, too.

Key presenters included Orthocell’s KOLs and members of the Company’s Medical Scientific Advisory Board (MSAB) including Dr Giuseppe Luongo, a widely published and respected maxillofacial surgeon; Dr Brent Allan, a leading West Australian maxillofacial surgeon and chief investigator for Orthocell’s guided bone regeneration clinical trial; and Professor Ming Hao Zheng, from the University of Western Australia and Orthocell’s Chief Scientific Officer.

So why the smiles?

The Symposium featured presentations highlighting innovations in digital dentistry solutions and collagen membrane technology for dental implant procedures. The speakers demonstrated how advances in technology are changing the way oral surgeons plan and execute dental implants enabling a personalised approach to treatment plans. And let’s face it, that’s excellent news for patients. Just ask 64-year-old Lorraine Bloodworth, who personally benefitted from CelGro® during a complex procedure for two dental implants. Lorraine was thankfully in the right hands at the right time for the procedure – her prosthodontist was participating in a trial for Orthocell’s CelGro®.

“They asked if I would be willing to trial CelGro® and I was prepared to do it,” she said, with a matter-of-fact explanation that she proudly supports medical research and innovation, due to her time working in the medical field. “I had to have the teeth taken out first. Then they prepared the dental implant site using a bone graft and the CelGro collagen membrane, lifting the sinuses. Then there were scans. Then once the bone grafts had set, I had to have the dental implants sorted out. It was all-day procedures.” After three months, the tissue was completely rebuilt, with the dental implants securely in place. A successful outcome that is due, in part, to the regenerative properties of CelGro®, which allows for better tissue growth and bone repair, and improved integration with existing tissue.

Dr Giuseppe Luongo

Dr Giuseppe Luongo, a widely published and respected maxillofacial surgeon, who was in attendance on Tuesday, said:
“CelGro™ has key advantages over other products and supports high-quality tissue repair.  I am very excited to work collaboratively with the MSAB and Orthocell to establish CelGro™ as a best-in-class scaffold for bone and soft tissue repair,” said Dr Luongo.

Patient by patient, the impact of CelGro collagen membrane and digital dentistry technology will continue to be realised around the world – and there’s no denying the appetite from leading experts to support continued innovation in this space. It’s a team effort and THAT is reason to smile.