Ronawk Joins the Wake Forest School of Medicine Institute for Regenerative Medicine and ReMDO Endeavors and Enters the Test Bed to Accelerate Next-Gen Therapies
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    Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Overland Park, Kansas (August 12, 2024)

    Ronawk Joins the Wake Forest School of Medicine Institute for Regenerative Medicine and ReMDO Endeavors and Enters the Test Bed to Accelerate Next-Gen Therapies

    09 August 2024

    Ronawk, the leader in Advanced Tissue Mimetic Technologies, and the creator of the Bio-Block Universe®, announced today it is joining the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO) RegeneratOR Test Bed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Ronawk’s Bio-Blocks™ are a 3D printed hydrogel that allows researchers to take primary or immortalized cells and expand them while maintaining the cell or tissue in a native state.  Ronawk is able to tune the mechanics of Bio-Blocks which allows cell/tissue structures to grow that are as soft as brain or as hard as bone.  The goal is to accelerate regenerative and personalized medicine therapies to market faster and at a significantly reduced cost. 
    While other methods force cells into an artificial environment, Ronawk’s Bio-Blocks provide an environment that allows cells to organize and form tissues as they would naturally. The result is tissue which resembles the native architecture and function of tissue in the body. This key advantage is why Bio-Block cells maintain a high-level of metabolism, viability, and proliferation which leads to superior output in both quantity and quality of the production of a variety of biologics to drive advancements in human and animal biological therapies, diagnostics, prognostics, and countermeasures to biological and chemical threats.
    Since the 1950’s plasticware has been the most common platform scientists use to grow cells. These vessels are 100,000X stiffer than soft tissue environments like skin, liver, fat, kidney, lungs, and the brain. Since the 1980s, scientists have been able to grow 3D organoid structures utilizing gel-based scaffolds. The issue with these scaffolds include well-to-well and batch to batch consistency, reproducibility, as well as they are incredibly difficult to scale.
    Ronawk’s tissue mimetic substrate enables cells to cultivate microenvironments that streamline the process of growing tissue and cells. Bio-Blocks provide a microenvironment that allows cells to naturally mimic, outside the body, how cells interact inside the body:
    • Bio-Blocks enable the flexible introduction of various stimuli.
    • Bio-Blocks support co-culturing of multiple cell types.
    • Bio-Blocks allow for cell isolation and subsequent in-depth cellular signaling analysis.
    • Bio-Blocks provide an ideal environment for studying cellular functions in real-time.
    • The form factor of Bio-Blocks allows for imaging to take place throughout the process.
    Ronawk’s revolutionary platform not only empowers researchers to explore heretofore unseen intricacies of cell behavior, it also accelerates the pace of drug discovery and the development of tailored therapeutic strategies by offering insights into cellular responses and treatment effects with unprecedented consistency and precision.
    The RegeneratOR Test Bed, located in the Innovation Quarter which is an epicenter of highly innovative science and technology, serves as an economic development driver, helping to accelerate the growth of start-ups and scale up for mid-to-large-sized companies with innovative and emerging technologies. Access to state-of-the-art biomanufacturing equipment, industry expertise, and talent to support novel prototyping and commercial product development is available.

    “WFIRM is a proud supporter of Ronawk’s work in advancing regenerative medicine, especially when it comes to the ReMDO Test Bed ecosystem. By welcoming partners like Ronawk, Test Bed participants gain an incredible resource for accelerating their therapies.”

    Dr. Anthony Atala, Director, WFIRM

    “Collaboration is critical for turning research advances into commercial therapies rapidly. The complexity and diversity of modalities is so big that nobody can do it alone. The future of next-generation therapies is not only about discovering them but manufacturing them in a better way.  The Test Bed at Wake Forest is a model for the rest of the world. Researchers at Wake Forest and their partners will utilize Bio-Blocks for advancements that will save lives and improve the quality of life for many.”

    Tom Jantsch, President & COO, Ronawk

    "Ronawk is not just advancing; we are setting new standards in the realm of tissue engineering. Where the field typically splits into scaffold-based and scaffold-free approaches, Ronawk confidently marries both approaches into a third method. Our innovative platform empowers cells to start with a scaffold for essential early support, then progress to organically form tissue-like structures that not only mimic but start to organize into functional organ-like structures. This breakthrough facilitates healthier cell growth, authentic cell signaling, and natural formation of tissue microenvironments, significantly boosting the potential of all downstream applications."

    Heather Decker, Founder & CTO, Ronawk

    “As a biotechnology company with a mission to accelerate next generation therapies, we need to partner with organizations that are as innovative and agile as we are in order for the regenerative medicine industry to achieve its full potential. Achieving the target goal, and outcome will take unique collaborations like this partnership between Ronawk and WFIRM.”

    Dr. A.J. Mellott, Founder & CEO, Ronawk

    About WFIRM

    The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is recognized as an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies, with many world firsts, including the development and implantation of the first engineered organ in a patient. Over 450 people at the institute, the largest in the world, work on more than 40 different tissues and organs. A number of the basic principles of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine were first developed at the institute. WFIRM researchers have successfully engineered replacement tissues and organs in all four categories – flat structures, tubular tissues, hollow organs and solid organs – and 16 different applications of cell/tissue therapy technologies, such as skin, urethras, cartilage, bladders, muscle, kidney, and vaginal organs, have been successfully used in human patients. The institute, which is part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is located in the Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, and is driven by the urgent needs of patients. The institute is making a global difference in regenerative medicine through collaborations with over 500 entities and institutions worldwide, through its government, academic and industry partnerships, its start-up entities, and through major initiatives in breakthrough technologies, such as tissue engineering, cell therapies, diagnostics, drug discovery, biomanufacturing, nanotechnology, gene editing and 3D printing. Learn more at http://wfirm.org. 

    WFIRM CONTACT

    Emily Gregg
    Chief Communications and External Relations Officer
    egregg@wakehealth.edu

    About Ronawk

    Ronawk is redefining the study of cellular interactions by providing a cell type agnostic platform where scientists can investigate complex biological phenomena at an individualized level, without reliance on animal or human subjects. Ronawk's Bio-Block technology revolutionizes tissue engineering and regenerative medicine by providing an advanced platform for ex vivo generation of primary tissues from patient biopsies. The modular, dynamic hydrogel system of Bio-Blocks supports integration of multiple cell types and supports micro-vasculature formation, creating personalized, realistic tissue models. This breakthrough addresses the limitations of current technologies, enabling the development of complex, effective, and tailored therapies. With Bio-Blocks, the future of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering is not just envisioned but realized, transforming patient outcomes and advancing medical science. Find us online at ronawk.com, on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn.

    Ronawk Media Contact

    Scott Leigh
    Chief Business Development Officer
    +1 (913) 302-4792
    sleigh@ronawk.com
    6803 W 64th Street, Suite 200 Overland Park, KS 66202
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