ASX BRIEFS

AROA BIOSURGERY LTD (ARX) - Transforming Regenerative Medicine: CEO Dr. Brian Ward on Groundbreaking ECM Technology, US Market Expansion, and Patient Access Innovation

September 09, 2024 • Andrew Musgrave

Share episode

Send us a text

Discover how Aroa Biosurgery Limited is revolutionizing healthcare with regenerative tissue technology in our latest episode of ASX Briefs. Join us for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Brian Ward, CEO of Aroa Biosurgery Limited, as he shares the remarkable journey of his company from its humble beginnings in 2008 to becoming a leader in wound and soft tissue reconstruction. You'll gain exclusive insights into Aroa's innovative Myriad product family and their strategic transition to direct sales in the US market. 

Dr. Ward also breaks down the science behind the company's groundbreaking ECM platform technology, which is changing the landscape of tissue regeneration and infection prevention. Learn how Aroa sets itself apart in the competitive global wound care market by offering high-quality, affordable solutions that increase patient access. This episode is packed with valuable information that highlights how Aroa's advancements are making a significant impact on patient outcomes and transforming the future of healthcare. Don’t miss this deep dive into the cutting-edge world of regenerative medicine!

Andrew Musgrave:

Welcome to another episode of ASX Briefs, and joining me today is Dr Brian Ward, the CEO of Aroa Biosurgery Limited, a company that's at the forefront of developing and commercializing interdiviv regenerative tissue products for complex wounds and soft tissue reconstruction. Brian, thanks for joining me today and welcome to the ASX Briefs podcast.

Brian Ward:

Great, it's Good to be here.

Andrew Musgrave:

Okay, can you just start by giving our listeners a brief overview of the history of Ar Biosurgery.

Brian Ward:

Yes, so Aroa is a soft tissue reconstruction company started back in 2008 based on the regenerative properties of ovine fore stomachs. So originally a development manufacturing company, moved then into sales and marketing through a partner, initially with Hollister Tela Bio, and now we're set up with our own direct sales team in the US. So US focus vertically integrated selling into essentially wound and soft tissue reconstruction applications in the operating room.

Andrew Musgrave:

Okay, and the company has recently been expanding its product portfolio and market reach, so can you share some more about the latest products you've introduced and how they've been received by the market?

Brian Ward:

Yeah, so we're originally in complex wounds and that's a solid base of our business. But over the last three years we've moved into soft tissue reconstruction in the operating room and the lead product family for us there is Myriad. So Myriad is a series of products in different formats designed to rapidly build new soft tissue for patients. So you know we've got a sheet format of that product but also different um morselized forms of that as well. So recently I've expanded that range, a wider range of formats um finer formats, and that's really getting traction. You know the, the morselized formats now, are more than 70% of our sales.

Brian Ward:

The other half of our business is through our partnership with Tele Bio. They're focused on hernia and breast reconstruction. That's the OviTex products. You know we've been building out that portfolio as well, so we now have a very comprehensive portfolio. So originally focused on what's called simple and ventral hernia, now we've recently launched a product for inguinal hernia so it can cover the full range of hernias. Similarly, you know being we launched a second generation product for breast reconstruction.

Andrew Musgrave:

Okay, and the Aroa ECM platform technology has been central to your success, so can you delve into the science behind this technology and its potential for future applications?

Brian Ward:

Yeah, so essentially what we do is we isolate a very specific layer of tissue from the fore stomach of sheep. We process that in a way that removes all of the cells and cell content but retains a structure of that material and molecules that are adhered to that structure, that have important signaling function to cells, so that material becomes a building block for all of our products. And what's interesting about that material is that cells can move into it very quickly and start to lay down new tissue. The other thing we see is that it rapidly forms a new blood supply, and so blood supply is absolutely critical to the regeneration of tissue. It helps with the rate of tissue formation, but it also helps with preventing infection and making sure that tissue is vital. So you know, what really differentiates this product is just the rate of tissue formation and the quality of tissue that's formed from these products.

Andrew Musgrave:

OK, and the global wound care market is highly competitive. So how does the company differentiate itself from competitors and what unique value does it bring to healthcare providers and patients?

Brian Ward:

Yeah, look, I think the the global wound care market is competitive.

Brian Ward:

Most of the large, established companies have very traditional technologies and they're not really pushing the envelope in terms of new technology.

Brian Ward:

So what's different about our technology is the rate at which you get new tissue formation and the fact that we don't get high rates of infection. We don't have adverse immune responses, so that differentiates us. I think the other thing about these types of technologies is they've typically been very expensive and that's limited the number of patients that have had access to this technology, and it's meant that surgeons have rationed this technology to only the most complicated patients, and what we've been able to do is to deliver a leading technology at a much more affordable price and, on that basis, open up access to this technology to many more patients, and that's a game changer. So you know, we see an enormous opportunity to increase the utilization of these, of this type of product, so products that actually do proactively regenerate soft tissue and provide that benefit to many more patients, and that's a an opportunity to grow the market, but also an opportunity to displace older technologies that are out there that don't have that same functionality.

Andrew Musgrave:

And you also touched earlier on the growth, the strong growth in the US market. So what are your strategic goals in expanding into other international markets?

Brian Ward:

Yeah, so we most of our focus is in the US and 95% of our sales are in the US. We're establishing our own direct commercial operation in the US, so ex-US is a small part of focus, but it is important for us. So what we're doing ex-US is going through the regulatory approval process in many countries, so we now have regulatory approvals in over 50 countries. We have been establishing local distributors, where they are companies that already distribute medical products but have their own promotional sales team. So we have 15 distributors in place in other parts of the world. But we're supporting that through an international sales function within our business. So we see that as a part of the business that can deliver considerable growth in the future. But we're mindful of not trying to do too many things at once. So certainly directing most of our resources towards that US expansion opportunity but then also developing a pipeline of other opportunities ex-US.

Andrew Musgrave:

As a company focused on innovation. What are some of the key research and development projects that you're working on and how do they align with your long-term vision?

Brian Ward:

Yeah. So we see a great opportunity to continue to expand the existing portfolio. So there's many opportunities where it's an adaptation or a design change or an engineering change to an existing product, that means that that product is more suitable for a particular use case, so there's an expansion of that existing portfolio. We've also had a significant effort in developing a new technology platform. So this is our Enivo platform. It's a device that's a combination of an implant and a small, disposable negative pressure pump.

Brian Ward:

The idea here behind this is that in many of the surgeries where other products are being used, surgeons create a cavity within that tissue that's very hard to close down and can lead to accumulation of fluid and complications at that surgical site. So this product is designed to overcome those challenges, to reduce that cavity down into a flat surface and allow it to heal quickly. So there's a big effort gone into that. We have the first version of that product available for clinical studies. At the moment. We have two of the components of that product cleared by the FDA. The third component, which is a sleeve that goes around the catheter, we're working through an approval process with the FDA for that, which is likely to require a further clinical study. So you know we see that as an opportunity to sell that product alongside our existing product and significantly change healing outcomes for some patients. So very complementary to what we're already doing.

Andrew Musgrave:

Now, just to wrap things up what's next for the company and what are some of the key goals that shareholders can look forward to in the next 12 months?

Brian Ward:

Yeah. So this year we're just very focused on driving the commercial operation in the US and growing our sales for Myriad and OviTex, so we see strong growth. For this year Our guidance is $80 to $87 million, but then coming in behind that is a couple of other important initiatives as well. So on the clinical study side, we have a randomized controlled trial for our new Symphony product for use in diabetic foot ulcers and we're initiating a clinical study where we're looking at Myriad in combination with negative pressure wound therapy. So these studies are important. I mean they are important to show that our products make a difference for patients, but also to show the value that our patients can bring, not just in terms of patient outcomes but also in terms of sort of financial and operational savings for hospitals.

Andrew Musgrave:

Okay, Brian. Well, thanks for your time today. It's been great to get an update on the company and we look forward to further updates in the upcoming months.

Brian Ward:

Great. Thank you, Andrew. Very much appreciate the opportunity.

Andrew Musgrave:

That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.