SALUMEDICA LICENSES BIOMATERIAL TO SPINEMEDICA

SaluMedica has completed a licensing and asset sale agreement with SpineMedica, giving that company exclusive, worldwide license to use SaluMedica's hydrogel, Salubria, for a total disc replacement system.

As part of the agreement, the terms of which were not specified, SpineMedica will use Salubria to develop an artificial disc, called SaluDisc, which is designed to mimic the mechanical and physical properties of a native disc. SpineMedica believes SaluDisc offers flexibility and strength as a nonconstrained, lumbar intervertebral disc implant.

Salubria contains water in similar proportions to human tissue and is stronger than other hydrogels such as those used for contact lenses. The organic polymer-based biomaterial can withstand millions of loading cycles, yet it is soft enough to match the compliance of normal biological tissue, SaluMedica said.