A Surprising Merger between a Gaming Company and Regenerative Medicine Business
Mergers between existing medical companies aren’t uncommon, but a December merger between the game company Majesco Entertainment, Inc. and Salt Lake City’s regenerative medicine business Polarity is making major headlines. Together, the firm will be known as PolarityTE and headquartered in Salt Lake City, led by two former Johns Hopkins School of Medicine residents in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Details About the Merger
Barry Honig, the outgoing Majesco CEO, said in a statement, “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement to merge with PolarityTE. PolarityTE’s entirely new concept in tissue engineering will revolutionize the future of regenerative medicine and help address critical unmet medical needs.
“In addition to their wildly novel technology, what further led to our excitement in this deal with PolarityTE was their unmatched clinical advisory board, signaling to us the tremendous momentum behind this company and its technology. I have no doubt that PolarityTE will be the name in autologous tissue engineering in the future after meeting with their leadership, seeing their technology and speaking with members of their clinical advisory board.”
Dr. Denver Lough, the new chairman and CEO of PolarityTE, emphasized the vision of his new company: “We did not leave our resident careers at Johns Hopkins Hospital to merely change biotech. We left to change the future of medicine. This opportunity allows us to disrupt the field with our entirely new proprietary technology platform across a wide variety of tissues so that all patients will eventually be offered a pragmatic method of regenerative wound healing and personalized tissue engineering.”
PolarityTE’s Vision
Although the merger was only announced in December, the new company is wasting no time blazing its own path in regenerative medicine. The definition of polarity, “the asymmetric organization of cellular elements, which allows development of specialized tissue and downstream function,” is the foundation of PolarityTE’s vision.
According to the company’s website, “Using our revolutionary platform, cell and tissue polarity is induced, creating uniquely functionally tissue in a way that mirrors the natural development of the human body. The platform can be applied across all cells, tissues and composite structures, transforming tissue engineering into what has been envisioned since its inception.”
This complex and advanced science translates, fortunately, into simple accessibility for patients. A small skin biopsy is taken from the patient, sent to PolarityTE, and used to create a construct that is then sent back for application. Each and every construct is unique and different based on the patient’s needs, and PolarityTE even cryopreserves a portion for potential future use.
With a powerhouse like PolarityTE entering the market in 2017, regenerative medicine will become even more available to patients who are looking for natural, lasting tissue regeneration.
