UW Spinoff Wins NSF Grant for Orthopedic Stem Cell Therapy

CellDrop Biosciences Inc. has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant for $999,999 to research and develop the first mass-producible, regulatory-approved stem cell therapy for equine orthopedic applications.

CellDrop Biosciences was founded as a spinoff of the Oakey Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at the University of Wyoming. It is a Laramie-based biotherapeutics company with the mission of resolving injuries and illnesses, not just treating them.

The company’s flagship product is an equine stem cell therapy that enables faster and more complete regeneration of tendon and ligament injuries in performance horses.

Like human pro athletes, equine professional athletes are prone to injury. About 80 percent develop tendon or ligament injuries during their careers, and many of these require euthanasia. This is a major pain-point for horse owners and accounts for $1.8 billion in unrealized revenue within horse racing alone.

CellDrop Biosciences is addressing this problem through development of a biologic therapy using allogeneic stem cells encapsulated in microscopic hydrogel droplets -- cells inside microscopic Jell-O-like marbles. This patented technology solves the two biggest problems with existing biologic therapies -- production scalability and immune rejection. Additionally, it keeps delicate stem cells alive and localized within an injury site, significantly improving healing outcomes compared to current therapies.

“This is another exciting step forward in our mission to revolutionize orthopedics,” says Benjamin Noren, principal investigator on the project and CellDrop Biosciences’s co-founder/CEO.

This newest grant complements CellDrop Biosciences’ recent seed round of $375,000 raised from local investors, including the Casper-based Breakthrough 307 angel group. These funds enable the execution of a large preclinical trial in horses, leading directly to a clinical trial and subsequent product sales.

The product’s initial launch in the equine veterinary market will allow subsequent expansion to human orthopedics, where preclinical data has demonstrated safety and efficacy healing tendon and ligament injuries and reversing debilitating joint conditions such as osteoarthritis.

NSF’s SBIR/STTR program conducts a rigorous merit-based review process on all submitted proposals, and only the most deserving receive funding. Once a small business is awarded a Phase 1 grant of up to $275,000, it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase 2 grant of up to $1 million. Small businesses with Phase 2 funding are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.

To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/. To learn about investment opportunities with CellDrop Biosciences, email Noren at ben@celldrop.co.