Miach Orthopaedics, Inc., a Westborough, Massachusetts-based surgical implant company, recently announced a new Vice President of Manufacturing, Stephen Wohlert, Ph.D.
Stephen Wohlert, Ph.D. New VP at Miach Orthopaedics
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Dr. Wohlert will lead Miach Orthopaedics’s manufacturing and platform innovation efforts for the Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Repair (BEAR®) Implant, an investigational device designed for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair. Dr. Wohlert brings more than 15 years of experience in medical device and over-the-counter drug concept and product development. Most recently he served as interventional care director of research and development at Professional Disposable International, Inc. in Montvale, New Jersey.
“Stephen is an experienced leader with a successful track record of transferring concepts to product development and commercialization,” said Miach Orthopaedics President and CEO Martha Shadan. “His unique expertise in collagen processes will be invaluable not only for overseeing manufacturing of the BEAR Implant as a treatment for ACL repair, but also for further innovating the platform technology.”
Miach Orthopaedics is a privately held company dedicated to developing bio-engineered surgical implants for connective tissue repair. The company’s initial focus is on the BEAR technology as a viable alternative to conventional ACL reconstruction for patients who have sustained an ACL injury.
Dr. Wohlert told OTW, “Miach is well-positioned to address a relatable clinical problem in a very innovative and superior way, and I look forward to being part of a fast-paced, results-oriented startup environment to advance a technology that has application to what could be a very broad patient population. I’m excited for the opportunity to leverage my direct experience in collagen implants and implantable medical devices to help realize the potential of the BEAR implant technology.”
Miach Orthopaedics’ new BEAR technology is a proprietary bio-engineered bridging scaffold used to facilitate healing of the torn ACL. The BEAR technology was pioneered by Martha Murray, M.D. at Boston Children’s Hospital, with initial research funding provided by the National Football League (NFL) Players Association, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health. Miach Orthopaedics hopes this new technology will restore more normal anatomy and function of the knee, and thus enable a higher percentage of patients to get back to activities they enjoy.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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