Dr. Frank Vizesi, Ph.D.
Frank brings over 20 years experience in cutting-edge orthobiologics research, with previous roles at NuVasive, SeaSpine and most recently as Chief Scientific Officer at Orthofix.
FREDERICK, Md., April 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Theradaptive, the market leader in targeted regenerative therapeutics, today announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointment of Dr. Frank Vizesi, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer. 
Frank joins from Orthofix, where he was Chief Scientific Officer, and brings over two decades of experience in orthobiologics and spinal fusion. He is a highly respected biomedical scientist who has been at the forefront of spinal fusion research throughout his career. He is passionate about driving progress in the field and bringing new technologies to surgeons that deliver improved outcomes for patients.
“I have dedicated my career to developing the best solutions for spinal fusion, and I am delighted to be part of a team that is developing by far the most exciting innovation I have seen in the space,” said Dr. Frank Vizesi, Chief Scientific Officer at Theradaptive. “Theradaptive has the potential to transform the standard of care with OsteoAdapt, and I am looking forward to working with the team to build the clinical data and scientific evidence we need to bring OsteoAdapt SP to patients in the clinic in the shortest timeframe possible.”
“Frank’s deep experience in orthobiologics and spinal fusion is an incredible asset for Theradaptive and will be game-changing as we continue to transform into a clinical-stage organization,” said Dr. Luis Alvarez, Theradaptive Founder and CEO. “He shares our passion for unlocking the vast potential of targeted therapeutic proteins and we are delighted to have him on board for the next stage of Theradaptive’s journey as we progress in spinal fusion and continue to demonstrate the wider applications of our protein engineering platform in an increasing number of disease areas.”
Frank is a natural leader, and his experience will be invaluable in shaping and guiding the industry-leading clinical and scientific team at Theradaptive as it continues to expand with the business. His initial priority will be working alongside the clinical and regulatory team to aid in the successful execution of the OsteoAdapt clinical study program and navigate the path to U.S. Food & Drug Administration (F.D.A.) approval, bringing this groundbreaking new approach to patients. Frank will also support Theradaptive’s ongoing label expansion into sports medicine, dental, and craniomaxillofacial indications using their clinical-stage AMP2 asset.
A GROWING NEED FOR TREATMENT INNOVATION
There is an increasingly urgent need for therapeutic advances in the spinal fusion landscape, as the demand for spinal fusion surgery continues to increase in line with our aging population. 40% of adults over 40 have at least one degenerated disc and this proportion rises to 80% in adults aged 80 and over. Currently 1 in 6 Americans is over 65, representing a huge and growing population of people living with spinal degeneration.
A UNIQUE APPROACH
Theradaptive is on a mission to unlock the vast potential of protein therapeutics to meet urgent patient unmet needs. Its unique protein engineering platform takes existing therapeutic proteins and create variants that are material-binding, or ‘sticky’, allowing them to be applied to the surface of an implant or device, like a coat of paint. This gives surgeons significantly greater control around where the protein is placed and how it behaves in the body, overcoming many of the current challenges associated with the clinical use of therapeutic proteins.
Its lead product, OsteoAdapt SP, is a spinal fusion implant coated in a layer of a powerful bone formation protein called AMP-2, making its entire surface bioactive. Once placed at the site of fusion, AMP-2 cannot disperse away and is readily available to trigger the cellular pathways that drive bone formation. OsteoAdapt SP has been awarded three breakthrough device designations by the U.S. F.D.A., and the first global clinical study to assess its effectiveness and safety in spinal fusion began in April 2024.
ABOUT THERADAPTIVE
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Maryland, U.S., Theradaptive is a venture-backed, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical and medical device company with the goal of leveraging its therapeutic delivery platform to deliver biologics where they are needed in the body with high local precision and high persistence to address unmet medical needs. Theradaptive’s innovative platform is enabling the development of new therapeutics in spine, orthopedics, sports medicine, dental, and soft tissue repair as well as targeted immuno-oncology.
The work was supported in part by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs endorsed by the Department of Defense, in the amount of $7,408,939, through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program under Award No. HT9425-23-1-0693, bringing Theradaptive’s total non-dilutive grant funding to approximately $30M. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs or the Department of Defense.
Contact: Harry Warne
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Email: Harry@flamepr.com
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