Vericel announced the first U.S. implant of MACI® autologous cultured chondrocytes for the treatment of symptomatic knee cartilage defects.
This closely follows the 4Q16 FDA approval of MACI, indicated for the repair of symptomatic single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee, with or without bone involvement, in adults. This represented the first FDA-approved cellularized scaffold to apply tissue engineering processes for growth of cells on scaffolds using healthy autologous cartilage.
Sources: Vericel Corporation; ORTHOWORLD Inc.