WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that Biorez, Inc., a New Haven regenerative medicine company, is “Murphy’s Innovator of the Month.” Biorez was founded in 2016 following a restart and rebrand of its predecessor company Soft Tissue Regeneration.
Biorez is a regenerative medicine company focused on developing and commercializing regenerative implants related to the orthopedic surgery market. Their lead product is a bio-inductive scaffold for ACL reconstruction, designed to restore knee stability and direct the regeneration of a new ligament, without having to sacrifice a patient’s own tissue to create an autograft. Their technology has the potential to replace the dependency on tissue grafts and improve patient outcomes.
In particular, Biorez is committed to providing better surgical solutions for military service members who are ten times more likely to suffer an ACL rupture, with over half experiencing permanent activity limitations. Biorez conducted a first in human study of its bio-inductive scaffold for ACL reconstruction, and is using that insight to develop a pipeline of product offerings planned for commercial release in 2020.
Earlier this year, Biorez raised $1.5 million financing, led by Connecticut Innovations, with participation from LaunchCapital, The Vertical Group, and New York Angels. In the time since the company has hired new team members, opened a Research and Development facility, filed a new patent, and expanded its development effort for new clinical applications.
“This is why investing in startup companies like Biorez is so important. Their work will lead to medical breakthroughs that improve patient outcomes and lower the cost of care for families and veterans. Connecticut is very fortunate to have them,” said Murphy.
“We are excited to receive this honor from Senator Murphy. Biorez has directly benefited from Connecticut’s Angel Tax Credit and support Senator Murphy's Angel Tax Credit Act. We have an excellent partnership with Connecticut Innovations, one of the best state-sponsored venture firms in the country. We believe partnerships like this between the public and private sector are important for developing innovative healthcare technologies and greatly appreciate their support,” said Kevin Rocco, CEO of Biorez, Inc.
Murphy believes entrepreneurship and innovation are building blocks for a strong economy. In the U.S. Senate, he has introduced two bipartisan pieces of legislation to incentivize angel investors to put more money into startup companies – the Angel Tax Credit Act and the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act. Startup companies create an average of 2 million jobs each year.
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