Aussie startup Orthocell gets grant to grow human tendons in lab

Orthocell has gotten a $430,000 grant from the Australian Research Council to work on growing human tendons in a laboratory setting. The idea is to use it first to repair knee injuries characterized by a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament, but the company is also investigating additional tendon replacement targets including the hand, shoulder and hamstring. Orthocell uses donated tissue to extract the building blocks for its tendons; it then uses a bioreactor to grow cells into a juvenile tendon. Story