Regenerative medicine could be $20B market in 15 years

The regenerative medicine field could experience explosive growth, from $1.6 billion to $15 to $20 billion over the next 15 years, according to Scientia Advisors' new market review.

The short-term focus in the area is on specific, practical clinical applications, such as Medtronic's spine fusion applications involving bone morphogenetic protein to spur bone growth. BMP can simplify spinal surgery by reducing the number of procedures required.

Scientia also predicts growth in peripheral vascular applications. Biotech Pervasis has a promising product called Vascugel in clinical trials. The treatment uses cell injections to help the vascular system recover from injuries. Therapies using stem cells to replace injured cardiac tissue in conjestive heart failure patients are also on the road to FDA approval.

China, right now the fifth most prolific contributor to regenerative medicine research, could experience significant growth in the field, Scientia predicts. The country first has to overcome its reputation for controversial stem cell therapy clinics.

Medical device companies also stand to benefit from the regenerative medicine market by creating equipment to deliver the therapies. "Medical device companies who supply surgical equipment also see it as adjacent, because they may need some sort of surgical equipment to deliver some of these cells to the right part of the body. From a technology perspective, that could be a hook," Scientia Advisors partner Arshad Ahmed tells DotMed.

- check out DOTmed's report for more