Aroa has changed a lot over the last seven years. We started as a company focused on developing our Endoform technology platform and we’ve transitioned to become a developer and manufacturer of a range of soft tissue repair products for medical use which are now selling successfully in the United States.
New Name
Renaming the company marks an important stage in the company’s development and our increasing confidence in our capacity to become a global leader in the biosurgery market.
We are pleased to announce that Mesynthes has been renamed Aroa Biosurgery Ltd.
Aroa is Maori for ‘understanding’, and our quest is to be at the forefront of understanding how biology, structural form and human factors can unlock the body’s intrinsic power to heal. Through a deep understanding of these factors we will continue develop products which improve patient outcomes. In deciding on a name it was important to us that the name that was aligned with our future direction, was relevant to our goals and recognized our New Zealand heritage. Aroa is a good fit and we will begin to roll this name out over the coming months.
New Facility
We have now been operating from our Auckland premises for just over one year and it has delivered a step change in operating capacity and development capabilities. As production has grown we have improved utilities, services and equipment to ensure that our operations are robust and meet stringent quality and regulatory requirements.
Endoform Dermal Template
As of the end of March 2015 we had sold over 1 million units of Endoform Dermal Template (EDT) to Hollister. This means within a very short period of time patients will have received over one million treatments of EDT. This provides confidence in safety and effectiveness and has had a significant impact in terms of treating wounds which had previously not responded to conventional treatments.
Reinforced Bioscaffolds
In the last year we have applied considerable development and manufacturing effort into commercializing our first surgical abdominal wall repair product. We were delighted that Tela Bio, our US based co-development partner, gained 510(k) regulatory clearance for our first co-developed surgical product in December 2014.
An abdominal wall repair clinical study is now proceeding in the United States and Reinforced Bioscaffolds are being implanted by leading US surgeons.
Team
The team has grown to 60-70 people as of June 2015. We’ve attracted a talented, committed, and diverse team highly motivated to build products which change patients lives.
New Directors
With the recent retirement or Mark Ahn and Greg Sitters from the Board we are pleased to announce that we have appointed two San Francisco based Directors with considerable leadership experience in international life science companies. Their counsel will assist greatly as we continue to grow and develop our unique portfolio of tissue regeneration products.
John Pinion has over 26 years of global leadership experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, combination products and device industries. He is currently Senior Vice President, Global Quality & Compliance at Roche and was previously at Genentech and Baxter. He has had leadership roles in Quality & Compliance, Manufacturing and Engineering, living and working in North America, Europe and Asia.
Steve Engle brings deep experience in US capital markets, a record of achievement with big pharma partnering and established links with the US FDA. As a former CEO of NASDAQ-listed companies Xoma and La Jolla Pharmaceuticals, he brings wide networks in the US and European biotech industries. He is a current CEO of Averigon Consulting, a leading advisory firm to the US life sciences industry.
Intellectual Property
Our patents for the use of Endoform in tissue repair applications continue to grant throughout the world. We have a strong position with multiple patents in United States and Japan and we have recently received confirmation that our patents in will begin granting in Europe. Patents have also granted in China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. We expect to file additional patents this year relating to new product development.
