Funding matches Alabama Research and Development Enhancement Fund (ARDEF) grant to Kyounga Cheon, D.M.D., M.S., Associate Professor at the School of Dentistry, University of Alabama, Birmingham to develop a novel bioactive dental pulp capping (DPC) material
Endomimetics, the developer of Bionanomatrix™, a peptide-based biomaterial to promote healing and improve outcomes following medical device implantation and other procedures, announced today a collaboration with BISCO, Inc., to support development of a dental application for the Endomimetics’ Bionanomatrix™ technology. BISCO is a company dedicated to improving the ability to bond dental restorations. The $350,000 in funding provided by Endomimetics and BISCO match an Alabama Research and Development Enhancement Fund (ARDEF) grant to support research that will be conducted in the laboratory of Kyounga Cheon, D.M.D., M.S., Associate Professor of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB). The total funding of $700,000 will be used to develop a novel bioactive Direct Pulp Capping (DPC) material using Endomimetics Bionanomatrix™ to better treat dental caries and other dental ailments.
“Our Bionanomatrix™ technology is designed to improve healing and patient outcomes for a wide range of devices and surgical applications,” said Joseph Garner, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Endomimetics. “In dentistry, conventional DPC materials have several shortcomings that limit their clinical utility. The matching funds provided by Endomimetics and BISCO for Dr. Cheon’s ARDEF grant will provide additional support for her research and, hopefully, result in a viable product candidate to improve dental care. The collaboration with BISCO is part of our core strategy to develop the candidate applications of the Bionanaomatrix™ and partner with industry leaders to advance those candidates through clinical development and, if successful, to patients.”
The project focuses on developing a novel DPC material by improving bioactivity of pulp tissue while achieving ideal mechanical properties. Conventional DPC materials have shown high solubility, low sealing capacity, weak physical properties, uncontrolled pulp necrosis, and unpredictable clinical success. Although recent bioceramic materials have been developed to improve clinical outcomes with moderate clinical success, bioactive function to induce the formation of a mineralized barrier (reparative dentin) without pulp necrosis, antimicrobial/anti-inflammatory capacity, physical-mechanical properties (i.e., sealing capacity, pH control, discoloration, and setting time), and cost effectiveness of these DPC materials still needs to be improved. To address the current limitations and improve the capacity to maintain pulp vitality, the development of a novel bioactive DPC material is proposed, utilizing the innovative coating technology of the Bionanomatrix™.
The ARDEF was established by the Alabama Innovation Act (AIA) is administered by Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) for the purpose of encouraging new and continuing efforts to conduct research and development activities within Alabama. The development of the bioactive DPC began in early 2023 and is expected to run for two years.
About Endomimetics:
Endomimetics is a privately held Company founded to develop applications for its proprietary Bionanomatrix™ technology. Bionanomatrix™, invented by bioengineering scientists at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), is a peptide-based coating that can be engineered to perform a variety of functions, which may have broad application in medical device implantation and other surgical procedures. Endomimetics plans to develop different applications through preclinical development then partner with medical device companies whose technology could benefit from Bionanomatrix™. The Company’s lead indication is the AVF GEL, which is designed to improve the maturation of arteriovenous fistulas. Other indications include coatings on stents and angioplasty balloons, dental direct pulp capping (DPC) and flow diverters. Additional information may be found on the Company’s website https://endomimetics.com/.
