POLY(ALPHA-HYDROXY ACID) CARRIER FOR DELIVERING RECOMBINANT HUMAN BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-2 FOR BONE REGENERATION

Autografting is the most common treatment to correct osseous defects, with donor sites of calvarium, iliac crest, and rib used most often [1 ]. While varying degrees of 'success' have been reported with this the rapy, a universal concern is donor site morbidity, Allogeneic bank bon e is an alternative to the autograft and while donor site morbidity is not an issue, bank bone has liabilities that make it less effective t han the autograft. Therefore, an off-the-shelf product to replace thes e therapies would improve the quality of care for patients. Towards th e development of such a product, we report on two studies that assesse d a combination of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 deli vered to osseous wound sites with a poly(alpha-hydroxy acid) carrier: poly(lactide-co-glycolide). Results from these studies indicate bone r epair can be accomplished with this combination. However, despite a ri ch therapeutic promise, clinical utility must be amplified. Therefore, the focus of our attention in the future will be the delivery system.