PBC BioMed, which opened a Memphis office last year, has achieved a "breakthrough device" designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The company’s product, OsStic injectable bone void filler, is a synthetic bone graft substitute with adhesive properties to help with recovery from injuries like bone breaks or fractures.
“This breakthrough designation focuses on periarticular fractures, those are fractures around your joints,” said Britt Martinez, VP of global business development and marketing for PBC. “Those are the most complex fractures. Right now, you just put in all the hardware, screws, and plates. … This is a more natural way that mimics your body's healing process. The material this is made out of will supplement that hardware that's traditionally used and then it will remodel, it'll go away, and will be reabsorbed back into the body.”
The Ireland-based company currently serves as a research and development (R&D) accelerator with the occasional solo project like OsStic. The breakthrough designation should allow PBC to accelerate its plans for its Memphis office.
“PBC BioMed is a 15-year-old company that was able to operate out of Shannon, Ireland, but with the focus on the U.S. and a lot of new technologies coming here first, that was the catalyst for needing this [Memphis] office,” Martinez said. “We've grown a lot in the past year, and we're definitely going to be adding to our Memphis business here.”
She said the company is planning on making a few hires this year, upping its U.S. workforce count from its current two staffers. Its local office is based in Epicenter, the startup incubator Downtown.
“I think we will outgrow this space,” Martinez said. “I don't know how quickly, but we're definitely happy to be here for now. We'll get three or four employees here, and we'll be too big for the office space. Then we'll be looking for that full-time home.”
PBC, leaning on its contacts as an R&D accelerator, already has teams lined up on some applications of the product, but is actively seeking partners for other indications.
“We have partners based on the breakthrough designation as a trauma indication that we have done with a partner,” Martinez said. “We already have a dental partner that is a multinational [company]. We're looking for spine, sports medicine, and veterinary partners, because there's applicability for bone adhesive all over [different areas].”
