“The team at BioLab Sciences has come together around a shared vision to promote healing and improve the quality of life for people who suffer from all kinds of wounds,” stated AZBio President & CEO Joan Koerber-Walker. “This commitment and the significant progress they are making to towards their goals is why BioLab Sciences is the 2021 Arizona Bioscience Company of the Year.”
Hope and Healing
Most of us have had a minor cut or even a more serious wound in our lifetime. With a little attention and care, our body heals itself. Unfortunately, for some people, especially people living with chronic conditions like diabetes and vascular disease, or people having experienced a major trauma, the natural healing process is just not strong enough.
Wounds that fail to heal after a period of six weeks or are reasonably expected to take too long to heal on their own are categorized as chronic or non-healing wounds and require medical intervention. Most commonly, chronic wounds required surgical procedures to remove large areas of healthy skin from other parts of the patient’s body to produce grafts, an operation that creates a second wound as doctors remove skin to help heal the first wound. In some cases, the second wound is more painful than the original one and a patient now has multiple wounds thus increasing the potential for infection.
BioLab Sciences, a regenerative biotechnology company, is creating new ways to help the body heal itself and provides new hope for people living with chronic wounds. In 2019, the company introduced its regenerative therapy known as MyOwn Skin™ that offers hope for an improved quality of life for the 6.7 million Americans who battle chronic, non-healing wounds and also burns.
When a doctor and patient elects to use MyOwn Skin™, the doctor takes a small sample, about the size of a pencil eraser, from some of the patient’s healthier skin. This is used by BioLab Sciences to create up to three 4-inch x 4-inch grafts within a week. BioLab Sciences reports that MyOwn Skin™, when applied over a wound, protects the body from external factors and infections, helping the overall healing process.
“MyOwn Skin™ has been used with success in patients presenting with a wide range of injuries, burns and ulcers” stated BioLab Sciences president & CEO Robert Maguire. “From a three-year-old patient with complex syndactyly (fused fingers) whose hand function was restored without the need for skin grafting to wounded veterans and active military personnel who access MyOwn Skin™ through the VA and DoD health systems, MyOwn Skin™ is having a positive impact across the chronic wound sufferer community.”
BioLab Sciences was founded in 2018 and started out with just 4 employees. The team has grown rapidly and projects to have over 100 employees by the end of 2021. The company acquired the initial patents to the technology that is MyOwn Skin™ and currently has 17 U.S. and international patents for their technology.
“Outstanding leadership and comradery scratches only the surface of why BioLab Sciences is such an incredible workplace where we work together to do more to help others,” shared Brittney Veler, a product specialist at BioLab Sciences, Inc. “It is fulfilling to be part of a team that is helping to save lives and limbs.”
BioLab Sciences’ products have been used by hospitals, surgery centers, and private practice on over 700+ patients in the United States and the company has experienced 843% annualized growth averaged over the last three years. A U.S. distribution network with over 90 distribution groups in the United States has helped to drive the company’s growth. BioLab Sciences is also currently evaluating opportunities for further expansion outside of the United States.
About the AZBio Awards:
Each year, the AZBio Awards celebrate Arizona’s leading Educators, Innovators and Companies during Arizona Bioscience Week. In 2021, the AZBio Awards will be celebrated as a 1-hour television special – Celebrating Life & Science – which will premiere on ABC15 at 4 PM on October 3, 2021. For more information and additional air dates and times visit https://www.azbio.org/celebrating-life-science-2021
About Arizona Bioscience Week
Each year Arizona Bioscience week is proclaimed at the Arizona Legislature and by the Governor. Arizona Universities, business organizations and economic development agencies host a series of educational events, investor forums, and celebrations to engage the community in one of Arizona’s most important industries. To access the full schedule of events, visit AZBio.org/AZBW2021.
About AZBio
Since 2003, the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) has supported life science innovation and life science innovators in Arizona. A key component in Arizona’s life science ecosystem, AZBio is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona’s bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners and leading business organizations. AZBio works in partnership locally and nationally to advance health innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovation benefits people in Arizona and around the world. Learn more at www.AZBio.org