Singapore: Australian regenerative medicine firm, Orthocell, is looking ahead to raise $8 million through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 20 million shares to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Orthocell is focused on developing treatments for variety of tendon, cartilage and soft tissue injuries and its treatments include Autologous Tenocyte Implantation (Ortho-ATI), a stem cell therapy that uses a patient's own cells to repair damaged tendons, and a collagen-based scaffold product CelGro which provides mechanical strength to facilitate tissue repair and healing in a variety of orthopaedic, reconstructive and surgical applications and is in late stage development.

The funds raised will be used to finalise the development of CelGro and lodge it for regulatory approval in Australia and to maintain regulatory approvals for Ortho-ATI and Ortho-ACI in Australia and their marketing.

Orthocell has treated more than 400 patients using Ortho-ATI and its autologous chondrocyte implantation (Ortho-ACI) cartilage repair product, and is currently generating revenues from these treatments in Australia. To date, Orthocell has principally been funded by Australian institutional investors including Stone Ridge Ventures.

"Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common reason to access health care services and costs Australia more than $4 billion each year," Orthocell CEO Paul Anderson said. "Regenerative medicine aims to address these conditions by repairing and regenerating damaged tissue using the body's own building blocks in a more effective manner than ever before."

"To date, clinic trial data has demonstrated the long term effectiveness of Ortho-ATI in its ability to regenerate tendon structure, offering patients both ongoing pain relief and restoration of function," Mr Anderson said.

Dr Stewart Washer, Chairman, Orthocell said, "Orthocell is a revenue generating company whose line of products have wide ranging applicability in repairing tendon, cartilage and soft tissue which has been damaged by disease, injury and the ageing process. These are large and growing markets and Orthocell represents a leader in the exciting area of regenerative medicine."