Scripps Health has received $12.7 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to support preclinical research to convert stem cells into tissue that can be surgically implanted to repair certain knee injuries, according to Scripps Health. Investigators at the Shiley Center for Orthopedic Research and Education at Scripps Clinic will lead the five-year project, which will include laboratory tissue engineering, cartilage-and-bone repair procedures in animal models, and preparation of an investigational new drug or biological product application for the FDA.  

For physicians, the targeted problem holds greater significance than any immediate change in patient care. Scripps said the work focuses on injuries involving knee cartilage and underlying bone, including lesions larger than 2 square centimeters. In this area, donor graft availability and tissue-preservation challenges limit current options. Scripps also said another option, an autologous cell-based approach, requires two surgeries and uses a scaffold-based implant.

In the original Scripps announcement, Darryl D’Lima, MD, PhD, director of orthopedic research at Scripps Health and lead investigator on the project, said, “A biological implant that can successfully treat cartilage and bone defects of the knee would resolve the limited availability of donor graft tissue and has the potential to delay and eventually eliminate the need for joint replacement.” Scripps said researchers plan to submit the FDA application at the end of the grant period; if approved, human clinical trials could begin.  

The immediate takeaway for clinicians is limited but relevant: this remains preclinical work, not a new therapy or referral pathway. But it is a substantial translational research effort aimed at a persistent orthopedic challenge for which current options remain constrained by graft supply, tissue handling, and procedural complexity.