Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC) has soared on inking a globally exclusive licensing and manufacturing agreement with BioHorizons Implant Systems Inc for the supply of Striate+™, a resorbable collagen membrane used for dental-guided bone and tissue regeneration procedures.
BioHorizons – one of the largest dental implant companies in the world – has agreed to pay Orthocell A$23.1 million (US$16 million) in consideration for the licence agreement.
In turn, Orthocell will supply BioHorizons with Striate+ products embodying the intellectual property and grant exclusive distribution rights of those products globally.
Shares up 50%
“We are very pleased to partner with Orthocell to offer our valued customers a dental membrane with excellent handling properties and regenerative potential,” BioHorizons CEO and president Steve Boggan said.
“Striate+™ will be a highly complementary addition to our global biomaterials product portfolio for dental tissue regeneration.”
Investors responded positively to the agreement, sending shares as much as 50% higher to A$0.45.
The Orthocell Striate+™ collagen membrane.
Agreement a “significant milestone”
“BioHorizons is a leading global provider of dental implant and tissue regenerative products with specialist capabilities and resources to expand the marketing, promotion and supply of Striate+ worldwide,” Orthocell managing director Paul Anderson said.
“We are delighted to be working with BioHorizons which has established relationships with dentists and dental specialists and a successful track record in driving the market entry of high-quality products.
“The agreements with BioHorizons represent a significant milestone for Orthocell and provide further external commercial and technical validation of the CelGro™ collagen scaffold platform, from which the Striate+ dental products were developed.”
Orthocell secured this licensing and manufacturing agreement at a time of high growth for the biotech industry, which over the last 24 months has seen the highest level of capital raising on record – $8 billion, of which $6.3 billion can be attributed to Australian-based biotherapeutic giant CSL Ltd.
The total market capitalisation for these companies now sits at about A$232.8 billion, an increase of 37% since 2019.
Orthocell and BioHorizons will now seek to take advantage of this lucrative industry by marketing and distributing Striate+ alongside BioHorizon’s evidence-based dental implants and tissue regeneration products with the aim of improving the lives of patients with missing teeth.