Fracturing a bone – be it a crack or a break – is a painful experience, often with a lengthy recovery process that doesn’t always guarantee full healing.
A group of medical professionals with their own knowledge and personal experience of fractures have created a method of heightening bone regeneration, enhancing the body’s natural healing processes.
A fracture heals in a series of stages: First the body forms blood clots at the site of the injury to mark the start of the process, which is then followed by the creation of a temporary bone (soft callus) to hold the bone together as it begins to heal. This soft callus is slowly replaced by regenerated bone (also known as hard callus), which continues to strengthen even after a cast or brace is removed.
OrthoTreat says its treatment helps in every step of this healing process.
“What we’re doing is regulating the cascade of bone regeneration and improving it,” OrthoTreat co-founder Dr. Hilik Marom tells NoCamels.
OrthoTreat’s ModulX therapy is administered via an injection at the site of a fracture. The gel-like substance contains two separate components – a known medication and a plant-based molecule.
And according to Marom, this combination enhances the process of bone regeneration in two different ways – by strengthening the bone and by improving its psychological structure.
The gel is applied directly onto the surface of the bone as a bonding agent when the two sides cannot be fully brought back together or as a supplement to bones that have sustained more debilitating damage.
Borrowing technological terminology, Marom compares ModulX to software rather than hardware. The therapy is designed to facilitate the body’s own healing mechanisms rather than introducing external apparatus such as a graft or screws to hold a broken bone in place as it knits back together.
Even so, Marom says, the ModulX gel can also be used alongside such therapies, depending on the state of the bone and the kind of injury it has sustained.
“You just have to apply it on the surface of the bone,” says Marom. “This is it. As long as you’re in contact with a bone, it works.”
The one-off treatment is slowly released over approximately 21 days, a period the company says is crucial in bone healing.
“The majority of the effect that we bring will be in those first three weeks,” OrthoTreat CEO Sahar Meiron tells NoCamels.
“[This] will massively improve that healing time and strength, bringing a much better environment for the body to do its own work.”
A way to facilitate healing in bone fractures has long eluded researchers, Marom says.
“The new solution of bone regeneration is the Holy Grail,” he explains. “Everyone is looking for it.”
Marom worked as a researcher in two different bone laboratories, participating in multiple efforts to improve the healing process for bone fractures, all of which were unsuccessful.
“We were failing again and again and again,” he says, explaining that in all of the different attempts, at most they could enhance the healing process by 5-10 percent.
“And that’s really not significant – it’s not really an improvement,” he says.
OrthoTreat, however, says its treatment can improve bone regeneration by up to 35 percent and even reduce the perils that come with any surgery.
“We are improving the outcomes and we are minimizing risks, which is the optimal for any orthopedist or traumatologist,” Marom says.
Indeed, the funding for the Tel Aviv-based startup, which was founded in 2020, has largely come from experts in the field of orthopedics and stakeholders such as sports professionals who often suffer from bone injuries.
“We have many orthopedics worldwide who have been investing,” says Meiron. “Some small biotech companies and people who have an understanding of the need within different areas.”
In fact, the startup’s British chief medical officer, Prof. Mansoor Khan, initially expressed interest in OrthoTreat as a potential investor but within days joined the company.
“You’ve not got people who are just throwing money at it,” says Khan, a visiting professor at Imperial College London, consultant in major trauma for the National Health Service and former head of surgery in the Royal Navy.
“You’ve got people who are experts in the field of trauma investing. You’ve got people who know what they’re talking about, willing to put their money where their mouth is,” he tells NoCamels.
The company aims to complete its human trials and be on the market by 2028 with a product whose price will make it an option worldwide – including in developing nations.
“If you look at the price of this drug, it’s probably going to be less than one screw that orthopedic surgeons use,” says Khan. “It’s affordable, it works, it’s safe, and it can be brought to market very, very soon.”
Meiron says ModulX merely helps the human body to heal in the optimal way possible.
“The body knows how to play the music, it knows how to play the tune,” he says. “We are the conductor.”
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