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Company profile	CO.DON GmbH develops, produces and distributes autologous cell therapies. The products being marketed are cell therapy products for the minimally invasive treatment of cartilage damage in the knee and other joints using only the patient’s own cartilage cells (“autologous chondrocytes”). CO.DON’s method is currently used in Germany and Europe. Licence agreements with companies outside Europe are in place. More than 18,000 patients have already been treated. In July 2017 CO.DON received central EU marketing authorization for the product Spherox, followed by the marketing authorization for Switzerland in March 2019 and UK in 2021. At the Leipzig site, CO.DON has built one of the largest facilities for the production and cultivation of human cells on an industrial scale for in-house and contract manufacturing.
Products & Services	Spherox as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product is a personalised, autologous cell therapy product for the minimally invasive treatment of cartilage defects in the knee joint, using only the patient’s own cartilage cells, by means of autologous matrix-associated chondrocyte transplantation. The key feature of the Spherox technology is that cartilage defects of the knee of up to 10 cm2 can be treated using the patient’s own cells. This helps to relieve pain in the joint as well as improving other symptoms, the functionality/mobility of the knee and the patient’s quality of life. Spherox has been successfully evaluated in two multi-centre clinical trials, each with a 5-year follow-up, that showed the safety and efficacy of this innovative medicinal product. The company received EU marketing authorisation for Spherox 2017, approval in Switzerland (2019) and UK (2021). The production of Spherox is fully autologous and does not involve the use of pool plasma or animal carrier substances.
References and export activities	CO.DON has subsidiaries in Switzerland, the Netherlands and distribution partnerships for Austria and he United Kingdom. The company is preparing to enter the market with distribution partners for Italy and Belgium. In addition to the further development of the European market, future focus is on markets such as Asia, the USA and South America.
Target group	Product customers are orthopaedic and trauma surgeons who perform in-patient and out-patient articular surgery.
Competitive advantages	Currently the only available EMA-approved cell therapy product in the market segment. The production is fully autologous (no use of pool plasma or animal carrier substances). The product is minimally invasive applicable and adheres to the defect (no gluing, suturing, covering). The technology platform comprises a patent portfolio of several patent families with filed or issued national/international patents and applications.
Ideal Business Partners	CO.DON is searching for partners in the healthcare system including potential licencees with knowledge and interest in Advanced Medicinal Therapies and Cell cultivation, GMP-compliant production of such products or corporate partners in the field of tissue engineering and regeneration for various ongoing and planned projects.