VIPC Awards CCF Grant to VCU to Develop Decellularized Skeletal Muscle to Treat Rotator Cuff Injuries

CCF grant to support Dr. Michael McClure’s novel allograft solution to minimize the number of post-surgery re-tear injuries.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, March 6, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) today announced that Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has been awarded a Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grant for $75,000 in support of research conducted by Dr. Michael McClure. VIPC’s CCF programs have distributed more than $54 million to Virginia-based startups, entrepreneurs, and university-based inventors since 2012 in support of critical early technology testing and market validation efforts.

Rotator cuff injuries are one of the most common shoulder problems experienced worldwide, yet there are no particularly effective treatments on the market. The longer the injury is not treated, especially in cases where the rotator cuff has torn, the longer the recovery, which often leads to chronic pain and muscle weakness. Even when treated, re-tearing the rotator cuff is a consistent problem due to scarring. In an effort to minimize the number of re-tears that occur, the McClure Lab at VCU is developing a collagen-based muscle scaffolding from decellularized human cadaver muscle that, according to preliminary data, repairs damaged muscles by allowing the muscle to heal and grow after injury. The protocol is patent-pending.

“Treatments for torn rotator cuffs are available but they lack the naturally occurring bioactive factors that cue muscle regeneration. Our off-the-shelf solution outperforms these other options,” said McClure, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in VCU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. “The decellularized muscle matrix appears to enable more muscle growth, grow blood vessels to keep the tissue alive, and support peripheral nerve axons. It also has the additional advantage of limiting scarring, being easily sutured, able to be stored at room temperature, and overall has the potential to lead to a faster recovery.”

McClure has spun out a new company, Sarcogenics LLC, to commercialize the technology.

“The prevalence of a rotator cuff injury increases with age, so as the population grows older, the market for the proposed bio-scaffolds also grows,” said Hina Mehta, VIPC’s Director for University Programs. “Although it’s still in its early stages of development, Dr. McClure has been working on the technology for the past ten years, demonstrating its medical efficacy in rodent models. With CCF funding, the team will continue product development and conduct further testing against currents standards in preparation for eventual FDA approval.”

In addition to rotator cuff injuries, the team is also considering other muscle-loss injuries and will continue to explore market opportunities and barriers to entry.

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university based in Richmond, Va.

About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
Connecting innovators with opportunities. As the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), VIPC is the commercialization and seed stage economic development driver in the Commonwealth that leads funding, infrastructure, and policy initiatives to support Virginia’s innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and market development strategies. VIPC also collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal partners to support the expansion and diversification of Virginia’s economy. 
 
Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | VVP Fund of Funds | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Petersburg Founders Fund (PFF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center (PSIC)| Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. 

For more information, please visit www.VirginiaIPC.org. Follow VIPC on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.

About the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF)
VIPC’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) accepts applications and awards funding on a rolling basis to Virginia’s small businesses and university-based innovators. For Virginia’s academic and nonprofit research community, the competitive grant program seeks to fund high-potential Virginia-based academic research teams that are developing technologies with strong commercial potential. The grants support early technology and market validation efforts such as customer discovery, market research, business model validation, the development of prototypes or minimum viable products (MVPs), customer pilots, and intellectual property protection, team development, and more. For more information on funding opportunities and eligibility requirements, or to apply, visit the CCF pages from www.VirginiaIPC.org.

Angela Costello, Vice President of Communications
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
angela.costello@VirginiaIPC.org
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