OrthoTec 2013 Panel Battles Over the Future of Orthopedics (MDDI Online)
It nearly came to blows at Orthotec this week. I’m being bombastic, but we did see some controversy during a panel on tissue engineering and future applications. The panel consisted of some terrifically opinionated experts, including Susan Drapeau, director of biologics R&D at Medtronic, Michael Hiles, VP of research and clinical affairs at Cook BioTech, Arnold Caplan, professor of biology and director of the Skeletal research Center at Case Western Reserve University, Sachin Mamidwar, general manager of OrthoGen, and Kevin Stone, orthopedic surgeon and founder of the Stone Clinic. The panel was led by Scott Bruder, chief medical and science officer at Stryker.
What the Panel Agreed On
The future of orthopedics won’t be in metal and plastic—it will be in tissue engineering.
The Controversy
Susan Drapeau however, was adamant that the changes were a long way off, held back by a challenging regulatory environment, a flux of “biologics” already in the IP market, and a lack of incentive for orthopedics companies to fund or otherwise support development of tissue engineering. She estimated that future of those m...
