Osteopore International Pte Ltd clinches Made in Singapore Award for Medical

The company bagged the Made in Singapore Award in the medical category.

Osteopore International Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company, uses a proprietary 3D printing process to fabricate biomimetic microstructure with bioresorbable material to create a cell-friendly environment that facilitates natural bone regeneration.

Osteomesh is the company’s revolutionary answer to orbital floor fractures and surgical defects, spearheading the transition from repairing bony defects to functional regeneration of damaged tissues. Osteomesh is made with Polycaprolactone (PCL), a bioresorbable polymer that degrades in tandem with the regeneration of new tissue and leaves no trace of an implant in the patient’s body. It fully resorbs in vivo via hydrolysis and then metabolised by the body. After two years, with the bone properly healed, the structure dissolves into carbon dioxide and water.

Singapore Business Review lauded trailblazing products that have been established as industry game changers during the recently concluded Made in Singapore Awards.

Back on its third year to recognise innovative products manufactured and conceptualised in the country, this year’s awards programme merited companies who brought pride to Singaporean craftsmanship and creativity.

Osteopore International Pte Ltd bagged the Made in Singapore Award for the medical category with their product, Osteomesh.

Apart from this, the product possesses a patented interconnected porous architecture that copies the natural cancellous bone microstructure and promotes tissue and vascular ingrowth. This means that upon implantation, blood and surrounding cells are absorbed into the pores of the scaffold through capillary action, thus creating a regenerative niche that is ideal for tissue formation.

The company designs and manufactures off-the-shelf products and patient-specific Osteomesh implants for craniofacial reconstruction, oral maxillofacial reconstruction and orthopaedic long bone reconstruction.

The advantages of Osteomesh include the absence of adverse patient reactions such as the absence of long-term foreign body reaction. It also boasts superb functional and aesthetic outcomes and demonstrates significant improvements in ocular motility and binocular single vision.

Clinically, the product renders no complications when used according to its approved indications. It also brings back the structural integrity of the orbital floor by bridging the defect and preventing orbital contents from herniating into the adjacent periorbital sinuses.

To put the product to a test, surgeons at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital have performed the first-ever surgery that used Osteomesh by transplanting a 3D-printed shinbone, a customised Osteomesh, into the leg of a man who faced losing the said limb.

In 2017, Reuben Lichter, an Australian man in his 20s, developed a severe infection in his tibia that resulted in 36cm of his bone being removed. Bone grafting is a proven solution but is limited only to a short segment, not something of this scale. Another solution was to amputate from the kneecap down. However, his joints at the knee and ankle were fine, as were the nerves in the leg. A team of surgeons, scientists and researchers created a customised design of a replacement for the young man’s tibia. The team performed the procedure successfully and the patient is on his way to recovery. Two years on, the patient is able to walk without the assistance of crutches, and is able to commute using public transportation systems such as buses and trains.

“Now I can walk again, I'll go for my medical and jump back into aviation,” said Lichter to ABC.

Meanwhile, long-term clinical trials have exhibited significant bone regeneration as the mesh is slowly resorbed by the body and replaced by autologous bone.

Osteopore International continues to collaborate with clinicians and researchers globally in order to develop products that answer unmet healthcare needs, reduce healthcare costs, improve patient outcomes and enhance lives.

The Made in Singapore and Designed in Singapore Awards, presented by Singapore Business Review, was held on 28 November 2019 at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.

This year’s winners were judged by Richard Loi, Partner and SEA Consumer & Industrial Products Industry Audit & Assurance Leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP; Toh Kim Teck, Assurance Partner at Foo Kon Tan LLP; Henry Tan, Managing Director at NEXIA TS; and Joshua Ong, Managing Partner at Baker Tilly.

If you would like to join the 2020 awards and be awarded as one of the most outstanding companies in Singapore, please email [email protected]