Biorez

Biorez, Inc. operates as a medical device company focused on advancing soft tissue healing, particularly within the sports medicine and orthopedic surgery markets. Founded in 2008 by Joseph Reilly and Cato Laurencin, and formerly known as Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc., the company is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut. Kevin Rocco, who has a background in biomedical engineering and a passion for medical implants, later joined and became the CEO, guiding the company through significant growth phases. His leadership was instrumental in the development and commercialization of the company's key technology.

The company's core offering is the BioBrace® implant, a bio-inductive scaffold technology engineered to reinforce soft tissue repairs and promote the body's natural healing processes. This product addresses a critical need in the approximately one million annual tendon and ligament surgical procedures in the U.S., which are often challenged by long recovery times and high re-injury rates. The BioBrace is a biocomposite material, combining a highly porous Type I collagen matrix with bioresorbable poly(L-lactic-acid) (PLLA) microfilaments. This structure provides mechanical strength to the surgical repair site at the time of implantation while also serving as a scaffold that encourages cellular infiltration and the regeneration of new, functional tissue. The implant is designed to be fully resorbed by the body over a period of about two years, gradually transferring the load to the newly healed tissue.

Biorez's business model centers on the development and sale of these medical devices to surgeons and healthcare facilities specializing in orthopedics, general surgery, and sports medicine. A significant milestone was achieved in May 2021, when Biorez received FDA 510(k) clearance for the BioBrace implant, permitting its marketing in the United States for the reinforcement of soft tissues where weakness exists, such as in rotator cuff, ACL, and Achilles tendon repairs. The company has secured substantial funding over its lifetime, raising a total of $49.1 million across multiple rounds from investors including Connecticut Innovations, New York Angels, and the Pritzker Vlock Family Office. In August 2022, Biorez was acquired by CONMED Corporation in a deal valued at up to $250 million, consisting of $85 million at closing and potential growth-based earnout payments, a move set to accelerate the global distribution of its BioBrace technology.

Keywords: soft tissue repair, bio-inductive scaffold, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, ligament repair, tendon reinforcement, BioBrace, resorbable implant, collagen matrix, medical device, regenerative medicine, PLLA microfilaments, surgical reinforcement, tissue regeneration, ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, musculoskeletal outcomes, CONMED acquisition, Kevin Rocco, biocomposite scaffold