Development, Clinical Validation and Manufacturing Scale up of FIbroFix Meniscus: A mechanically advanced, tissue regenerative, meniscal cartilage repair implant

This project will further develop an implant to restore mobility and prevent deterioration of the knee joint in patients suffering from injuries to the meniscal cartilage in their knees. The implant is made from a novel material called FibroFix which is formed from a protein extracted from silk fibres called fibroin. The properties of fibroin give FibroFix devices unique advantages, allowing them to be very strong, smooth and resilient like cartilage itself, while also capable of regenerating new cartilage tissue. Further development of the FibroFix implant on this project will allow it to be used to treat the meniscal cartilage on both sides of the knee joint and also to treat the more demanding, larger, injuries to the meniscal cartilage where the painful condition osteoarthritis would otherwise be very likely to develop. The project will finalise development of this implant and complete testing in large scale trials, demonstrating that it is both safe and effective. Once this has been achieved, the project will investigate the implant’s performance in a clinical trial and scale up manufacture to enable the implant to be ready for the large patient poulation once market approval has been secured.