WESTBOROUGH, Massachusetts – January 21, 2020 – Miach Orthopaedics, Inc., a privately held company dedicated to developing bio-engineered surgical implants for connective tissue repair, today announced that Stephen Wohlert, PhD, has joined the company as vice president of manufacturing. Dr. Wohlert will lead Miach’s manufacturing and platform innovation efforts for the Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Repair (BEAR®) Implant, an investigational device designed for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair.
“Stephen is an experienced leader with a successful track record of transferring concepts to product development and commercialization,” said Martha Shadan, president and CEO, Miach Orthopaedics. “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.”
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 director of research and development at Professional Disposable International (PDI) in Montvale, New Jersey. Additional experience includes director of research and development positions at Medtronic/Covidien in Trévoux, France, and North Haven, Connecticut, and project leader at Ethicon Norderstedt in Germany. He holds a doctorate degree in chemistry from the Technical University of Aachen in Germany and a master’s degree in chemistry from Christian Albrecht University of Kiel in Germany.
About ACL Injuries and the BEAR® Implant
Every year, approximately 400,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur in the U.S. Without treatment, the ACL does not heal, resulting in ACL reconstruction surgery being one of the most common orthopaedic procedures in the U.S. Miach Orthopaedics’ new Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Repair (BEAR®) technology is a proprietary bio-engineered bridging scaffold used to facilitate healing of the torn ACL. It is hoped 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. The BEAR II pivotal study completed enrollment, and the BEAR Implant is only available in ongoing FDA-approved clinical trials.
About Miach Orthopaedics, Inc.
Miach Orthopaedics, Inc. is a privately held company located in Westborough, Massachusetts, dedicated to developing bio-engineered surgical implants for connective tissue repair. The company’s initial focus is on the Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Repair (BEAR®) technology as a viable alternative to conventional ACL reconstruction for patients who have sustained an ACL injury. The BEAR technology was pioneered by Martha Murray, M.D., at the Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with initial research funding provided by the NFL Players Association, Boston Children’s Hospital and the National Institutes of Health. For more information on Miach Orthopaedics and its products, visit www.miachortho.com and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joni Ramirez, Merryman Communications, joni@merrymancommunications.com, 323-532-0746
