Biostage, Inc. announced the publication of a paper in the peer-reviewed Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine that describes the early tissue growth and regeneration processes following the implantation of the Biostage Esophageal Implant (BEI) in nine pigs with full circumferential esophageal segmental replacement. The BEI stimulated new blood vessel growth and all animals regenerated a continuous biological conduit by 28 days. The regeneration time period as noted in the paper compares favorably with the primary endpoint of Biostage's FDA-approved clinical trial which is to show a continuous biological conduit by 90 days.

Biostage expects to initiate patient recruitment in its first clinical trial in early 2023. The Biostage Esophageal Implant (previously known as Cellspan Esophageal Implant) stimulates the regeneration of new tissue to repair the esophagus following a full circumferential segmental resection. The paper in the Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine describes a study that investigated the early growth and tissue composition of the newly developed tissue as well as the fate of the adipose derived mesenchymal stromal cells (Ad-MSC) that are seeded onto the scaffold prior to implantation.

The BEI bridged the esophageal ends and restored the conduit by stimulating a regeneration process that includes rapid neovascularization followed by mucosal regeneration that was quantified from day 14 to day 28 post-implantation.