Status
CollPlant Ltd. is a biotechnology company specializing in the development and commercialization of safe, plant-derived collagen and protein-based biomaterials for the healthcare industry. Company was founded as a Meytav Incubator portfolio company on June 2004, by Prof Oded Shoseyov and Mr. Yehuda Tsafrir. In Q1 of 2007 CollPlant graduated from the incubator program while raising ca $5 MM. In Q3 of 2007 and 8.3 $ MM in Q2 of 2008CollPlant inaugurated its state of the art greenhouse to upscale its production capacity for its transgenic tobacco plants which successfully co-express Human collagen type I alpha 1 and alpha 2 chains. In the pipeline - additional products based on transgenic protein polymers and protein polymer composites.

 

Biotechnology, Recombinant Collagen, Protein Engineering, Composites, Transgenic Plants. Collagen Type I , the Company’s first product, is widely exploited for medical, cosmetic and therapeutic uses. Major Collagen Biomaterial Product Segments: Facial Aesthetics, Urinary Incontinence (UI), Orthopedics, Corneal Shields & Wound Dressings.

 

Collagen is one of the primary materials found in a variety of medical products including bone growth matrices, facial aesthetics, wound dressings and hemostats. During the last few years public awareness of the potential hazards associated with animal-derived collagen, such as viral contaminations and prions (mad cow disease), has begun to drive the healthcare industry to seek alternative sources for collagen.

 

CollPlant has developed a proprietary transgenic tobacco plant-based expression and production system for safe, high-quality, Type I recombinant human collagen. One of the key factors in the Company’s success is the targeting of the collagen to specific sites within the transgenic plant to ensure correct processing. The Company’s plant-derived collagen has an enhanced safety profile, as it is free of potential viral and other animal-derived hazards. In addition, CollPlant's transgenic plants are grown and cultivated within a completely sealed, environmentally-safe greenhouse.

 

The company has successfully produced plants which yield high quality recombinant human collagen. The Company has established a 1000sqm greenhouse to produce tens of thousands of transgenic plants per year and the basis for up-scaling to industrial amounts of collagen.

 

Sales of collagen-based products in medical devices, cosmetics and pharmaceutical product are estimated to be greater than US$10 billion worldwide.  5-10% of this amount is spent on acquiring raw collagen materials. The Facial Aesthetics dermal augmentation market is estimated to reach $1 billion by the year 2010. Facial Aesthetics products for improvement of facial appearance based on superior properties and flexibility of CollPlant Collagen could achieve significant market penetration in this market. Various Orthopedic products incorporating collagen as a principal component have gained significant market share in existing as well as in new market sectors. In orthopedic products based on delivery of growth factors, collagen is the matrix of choice. The Company expects to begin sales of its Type 1 collagen in 2008.

 

The Company has filed a PCT Patent application for its proprietary plant production system for human collagen. Additional filings related to the production process and novel composite materials are in preparation.

 

Mr. Efi Cohen-Arazi - Executive Chairman

Mr. Ronny Barak- Chief Executive Officer

Prof. Oded Shoseyov - Founder and Chief Scientist Officer (CSO)

Dr. Noa Lapidot – Executive VP, Operations & Product Development.

Dr. Hagit Amitai- VP Research & Development

Mr. Alon Bloomenfeld - CFO

 

The company is currently negotiating supply contracts with several global strategic partners as well as collaboration agreements to develop new collagen based products for the health care industry.