Tissue Regeneration Systems

About Tissue Regeneration Systems

Tissue Regeneration Systems (TRS) operates as a medical device company, concentrating on skeletal reconstruction and bone regeneration. The company was founded in 2008 as a spin-out, commercializing a technology platform licensed from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin. Key founders include Dr. Frank La Marca, a neurosurgeon from the University of Michigan, and Dr. William L. Murphy, a biomedical engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin, whose research interests focus on bio-inspired materials that mimic biological systems. The company's leadership team is strengthened by experienced individuals from the medical device and venture capital sectors, including Jim Adox, a managing director at Venture Investors, who was also a co-founder.

The core of TRS's offering is a technology platform that fabricates patient-specific, load-bearing, and bioresorbable implants using 3D printing. These implants, designed to replace themselves with natural bone over time, are made from a porous, osteoconductive polymer and are engineered to support function without the need for metal plate reinforcement. A significant differentiator is the proprietary 'Affinity' mineral coating, a plate-like nanostructure that mimics native bone and promotes bone regeneration. This coating can be applied to TRS's scaffolds as well as conventional orthopedic implants. Both the 3D printed scaffold technology and the Affinity coating have received FDA 510(k) clearance. The first product to gain this clearance, in August 2013, was a cranial bone void filler used for repairing neurosurgical burr holes.

TRS pursues a corporate partnership business model. Rather than direct commercialization, it collaborates with established medical and dental companies to develop and manufacture products tailored to their needs. Once a product receives regulatory clearance, the partner company handles commercialization while TRS serves as the manufacturer from its FDA-compliant facility in Plymouth, Michigan. This strategy was highlighted by a collaboration with DePuy Synthes, part of Johnson & Johnson, which began in 2014 and culminated in DePuy Synthes acquiring TRS's 3D printing technology in 2017. This transaction allows TRS to focus on further developing its core Affinity mineral coating technology. The company has secured over $11 million in funding through multiple rounds from investors including Venture Investors, the University of Michigan, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and HHS.