Regenity are making a material difference to healthcare with biomaterials

American-Dutch innovators Regenity Biosciences make a material difference to four million patients a year with their bioresorbable medical technologies. Leaders in regenerative medicine, the TopDutch region’s access to knowledge, talent and a tight-knit MedTech network has fueled their growth as they drive the global transition to sustainable healthcare.   

Regenity’s story in the TopDutch region begins nearly twenty-five years ago, in 1999. From a stack of advanced materials and technology research patents on a desk in the University of Groningen, added with an ambitious corporate vision, Regenity – then known as Polyganics - was born. The company was one of the early movers in the region’s now thriving (bio)polymer cluster, combining the patents intelligently to develop products that repair in the body and then dissolve naturally.

The main advantage for us is our original connection to the University of Groningen. It is the source that fuels our talent pool.

Bart-Jan Korteling, VP Research and Product Development and Site Director

Two and a half decades after spinning-out, it is still their close links to the University that keep them innovating. The region has a leading knowledge base in respect to advanced materials and biomaterials. “The main advantage for Regenity to be here in the TopDutch region is our original connection to the University of Groningen,” says Bart-Jan Korteling, VP Research and Product Development and Director of their Groningen site. “It is the source that fuels our talent pool”.

Repairing the body with soluble polymers

All of the medical devices Regenity have developed in the TopDutch region are based on their own patented polymer technology. They’re biocompatible (meaning they’re suitable for use in the human body) and bioresorbable (meaning they’ll dissolve after they have performed their function), a combination which makes the products perfect for use after surgery.

For example, their LIQOSEAL® ‘brain plaster’ prevents fluid from leaking into the body after brain surgery by producing a watertight dural closure. Without the patch there may be leakage of cerebrospinal fluid, which can produce infections. The product’s route from ideation to EU market license took only five years, which is extremely quick in the world of MedTech. “We can achieve it so quickly because we in the company, and in the region, really know the rules of the game”.

Rapid patient recovery, rapid company growth

By 2021, the Dutch business’ medical devices had been used in over five million surgeries worldwide. Having grown out of their old facilities, they opened state-of-the-art, $25 million, premises on the Zernike Campus. Not that staying in the TopDutch region was necessarily a done deal. “We searched through the Netherlands,” the company told us, “but Groningen was the best place for us.” Korteling explains: “The TopDutch region influences us in three reasons. As I mentioned, there’s its direct connection with the University. And secondly it is the campus, the Zernike Campus, where we develop as well as have a synergy with. And then lastly, we have the possibility to grow”.

TopDutch is important to us with respect to the network, the region, and the possibilities that this brings us

Bart-Jan Korteling, VP Research and Product Development and Site Director

The following year, the Dutch operations were acquired by an American firm, which is when the five sites over two countries came together under the name Regenity. “[The acquisition meant] we have the opportunity to redefine what’s possible for regenerative medicine while making a meaningful difference in the lives of more patients around the world,” they said. But even as Regenity have grown globally, it’s the tight-knit local ecosystem that still acts as a catalyst. “TopDutch is important to us with respect to the network, the region, and the possibilities that this brings us,” concludes Bart-Jan Korteling.