TEPHA INC. : IN THE NEWS Tepha's cutting edge technology has been a hot topic of discussion among the medical community since our company's inception.  Please browse our database of news and press releases for the latest highlights of our activities.  You may use and republish any of the press releases on this site for any legitimate media purpose as long as you reference Tepha, Inc. or the original source.  Please also feel free link to these pages from your website.   Tepha Announces First Human Usage of Medical Devices Derived from New Class of Resorbable Polymers Tepha, Inc., a developer of medical devices derived from a new class of polymers, announced today that two of its corporate partners, Aesculap and Tornier, are conducting initial clinical evaluations of the Company's new TephaFLEX® suture products. These clinical evaluations, conducted in both the United States and Europe, represent the first human usage of medical devices derived from Tepha's new class of resorbable polymers called polyhydroxyalkanoates ("PHA's").  ...more     Tepha, Inc. Announces $10.7 Million Venture Capital Financing Tepha, Inc., a privately held medical device company, today announced that it had closed a $10.7 million financing led by The Vertical Group. Also participating in the financing were Integra Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund, and Westfield Life Sciences Fund. The funds will be used to support the further development of Tepha's unique biopolymer technology platform including materials processing, device testing, and regulatory submissions.   ...more     Tepha, Inc. Receives FDA Clearance for First Medical Device Derived from New Class of Biopolymers Tepha, Inc., a privately held medical device company, today announced that the FDA has cleared its TephaFLEX® Absorbable Suture product for marketing in the U.S. The TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture is the first medical device derived from a new class of biopolymers that is the product of patented recombinant DNA technology developed by Tepha and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).   ...more     FDA Clears First of Its Kind Suture Made Using DNA Technology The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has cleared for marketing in the U.S. the TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture—the first absorbable polymer suture made from material isolated from bacteria modified by recombinant DNA technology.   ...more     Tepha, Inc. Closes $4.3 Million Financing Tepha, Inc., a privately held Boston-area medical device company, today announced that it has closed a $4.3 million financing led by The Vertical Group. Also participating in the financing were Integra Ventures, and Novartis Venture Fund. The funds will be used to complete the submissions of Premarket Notification 510(k) Applications to the FDA for the Company’s first products, as well as for research and development and working capital.  ...more     Tepha, Inc. Submits Device Master File for its elastomeric TephELAST™ biomaterial to the Food and Drug Administration.   ...more     Bioplastics for Industry and Medical Devices. Metabolix, Inc. and Tepha, Inc. Traditionally, the plastics and specially chemicals industries have been led by familiar names like Dow, Monsanto, and DuPont. But Since 1992, a small company has been making inroads into commercial production of environmentally friendly specialty polymers and chemicals….  ...more     Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Holds Promise for Tens of Thousands of Patients The development of innovative technology to restore or replace diseased or defective cardiovascular tissues has taken a major step forward with the awarding of a $2 million grant to Tepha, Inc. and Children's Hospital Boston. The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce will support the development of engineered biomaterials and cell technologies to create new cardiovascular tissue, and has significant implications for tens of thousands of both children and adults suffering from cardiovascular disease.   ...more     Tepha at forefront of U.S. Opportunities in Heart Valve Disease Management Hundreds of thousands of patients in the U.S., including a large share with congestive heart failure, could potentially benefit from heart valve repair or replacement. However, because both are currently performed as open heart procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, less than 94,000 individuals underwent heart valve surgery in 2001 due to its invasiveness, risks and cost.   ...more     Medical Product Manufacturing News: Tepha's new PHA4400 polyester material meets the broad requirements of tissue engineering. Offering flexibility, pliability, and absorbency, a biosynthetic material from Tepha Inc. (Cambridge, MA; www.tepha.com) can be used in a range of medical device and tissue-engineering applications. "Most biosynthetic materials used today were originally developed for sutures," says president Simon Williams. "While they are suitable for that function, they often do not have the optimal properties for the many other applications to which they've been adapted."  ...more     Tepha files DMF with FDA for new biomaterial with significant elastomeric properties. Tepha, Inc of Cambridge Mass has taken major steps forward in addressing unmet medical needs by developing new products for regenerative medicine. Tepha's biomaterials are all thermoplastics and may be processed using conventional melt and solvent processing techniques into virtually any shape or form. The company has developed the expertise to produce fibres, foams, films, meshes and injection molded devices from its initial biomaterials.  ...more     U.S. Department of Commerce’s ATP awards Tepha $2 million for development of cardiovascular tissue engineered products. More than 60 million Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease, which is the nation's number one cause of death and drains the economy of nearly $300 billion annually in treatment costs and lost productivity and future earnings. To provide better treatment options and reduce costs, Tepha Inc. plans a three-year project to develop and test novel elastic biomaterial scaffolds seeded with a patient's own cells and used to repair or restore defective cardiovascular tissues.  ...more