BioPoly, LLC
BioPoly implants provide a simple, yet effective, solution for patients with painful cartilage defects often caused by trauma or early stages of osteoarthritis. Although BioPoly isn’t a cure for arthritis, it is used to replace damaged areas of the joint (i.e. knee, shoulder, etc.) much like filling potholes in paved roads. Thus, the patient can regain their more active, pain-free lifestyle. BioPoly is a next-generation orthopaedic biomaterial, combining Hyaluronic Acid (Bio) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (Poly). This proprietary material interacts favorably with native tissues and supports anatomical loads. The BioPoly material has been licensed exclusively to the Company worldwide for all medical applications.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Technology
- Industry Type:
- Medical Equipment
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
About us
BioPoly is committed to helping patients regain their active and pain-free lifestyles by providing implant solutions for painful cartilage defects.
Herb and Sheila Schwartz founded BioPoly (the Company) in Fort Wayne, Indiana and began their journey in a business incubator, the NIIC (Northeast Indiana Innovation Center). The NIIC was critical to BioPoly’s early success as it helped to set the company up for growth and change. The Company was started with the help of two grants from the State of Indiana (21st Century Fund) and from there was successful at attracting outside investment from individuals and institutions who share the same vision of helping patients with solutions derived from our unique BioPoly material. The concept of resurfacing joints with the BioPoly material was invented by the BioPoly team while the BioPoly material was invented by a Mechanical Engineering Professor (Dr. Susan James) at Colorado State University.
In our patented process, these two materials have been combined to create an advanced orthopaedic biomaterial with exceptional wear properties and sufficient strength to support anatomical loading.
BioPoly progressed from the NIIC to its own building in Fort Wayne where its ISO 13485 certified operations are found. The BioPoly team is very talented and productive. BioPoly’s scientists create the proprietary material while the manufacturing team molds implants that BioPoly’s team of engineers design and develop. Functions such as product development, manufacturing, research, accounting, quality, regulatory, and marketing are all housed in the Fort Wayne facility.
Our Material
The BioPoly material behaves like synthetic cartilage. It is a patented combination of two well-known orthopaedic materials: “Bio” = hyaluronic acid or HA; “Poly” = Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene or UHMWPE.
This unique combination creates a hydrophilic (water-loving) polymer that attracts the lubricating joint fluid to its surface, effectively becoming a “self-lubricated” polymer. Unlike metal which is ~16,000x stiffer than cartilage, BioPoly material properties are more similar to cartilage. With the backbone of UHMWPE (the same polymer used as the bearing material in many total joint implants), carrying physiological loads is not an issue for BioPoly. Therefore, with better matching material properties along with its self-lubricating properties, BioPoly is the material of choice for replacement of painful cartilage lesions.
Current surgical treatments for painful, debilitating articular cartilage defects lie between two extremes: biological attempts (microfracture, OATS, ACI/mACI) and artificial replacement (total or partial joint arthroplasty). Unfortunately, many patients are too old and are not good candidates for the biological techniques (or they have had a failed treatment), yet they may not be ready (or not “old enough”) for an invasive artificial joint.
The devices made with BioPoly provide a treatment option between these extremes. The BioPoly® devices are uniquely designed to replace only the damaged cartilage; therefore, patients can quickly recover and return to pain-free, active lifestyles.