Kevin Stone, M.D., believes the tendon of a healthy young pig can be used as a knee joint ligament replacement in humans. He founded Aperion Biologics, Inc. to develop and commercialize a product to treat patients and seek other alternatives to human-based sources of tissue used in surgical procedures.
$20 Million Public Offering
In late September, the company announced that it filed a $20 million Public Offering Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise the funds in a common stock offering under SEC Regulation A. The offering is being conducted on a “best-effort” basis by WR Hambrecht & Co., LLC as the sole underwriter. The price or number of shares has not yet been determined.
Regulation A, an exemption from registration was recently updated and expanded and is designed to facilitate smaller companies’ access to capital and provide investors with more investment choices.
Aperion Biologics is at the commercial stage with its lead product, the Z-Lig, which the company says is a “young, strong, healthy tendon that becomes the patient’s own ligament over time.”
Pig Tendons
The product is produced by a patent-protected process for porcine tendons and its safety and performance was demonstrated in clinical trials in the U.S., Europe and South Africa. The company received a CE Mark in Europe for use initially as a knee joint anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) replacement in revision and multiligament procedures.
The company also has FDA unconditional approval to conduct a pivotal clinical trial in the U.S. for the product.
Daniel Lee is the company’s CEO. Before coming to Aperion in 2008, Lee was responsible for the Trurepair business unit at Smith & Nephew Endoscopy. Before that he was responsible for global marketing activities at OsteoBiologics, Inc. (OBI), which provided the only off-the-shelf bioabsorbable implant for articular cartilage repair in Europe. OBI was acquired by Smith & Nephew in 2006. Prior to OBI, he was the director of marketing for Regeneration Technologies, Inc (RTI).
Russell Kronengold, Ph.D., is the company’s acting chief scientific officer. Kronengold came from Kensey Nash Corporation where he was vice president of Biomaterials Research and an executive officer of the parent company.
Company Chairman Stone founded the Stone Clinic, an orthopedic clinic focused on biologic approaches to treating joint injuries, in 1988. He also founded Stone Research Foundation in 1996 as an independent research institution investigating new techniques for joint health, arthritis and human performance. When he finds the time, he’s a TED speaker and prolific writer.
