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Success stories from NRW

Fibrothelium GmbH – A new task for the silkworm

Fibrothelium GmbH in Aachen is a technology start-up from RWTH Aachen University. Founded in 2017, it has developed a process with which an important main ingredient can be extracted from natural silk, from which the company then develops products that are temporarily used as naturally degradable implants in the human body.

The challenge

When most people think of silk, they think of clothing. Christoph Ptock and Dr. Alexander Kopp find silk extremely interesting, but have something completely different in mind. The materials scientist and the mechanical engineer have known each other since their school days together at a high school in Brühl. After graduating from high school, they studied together at RWTH Aachen University and founded their first company there in 2010: With Meotec GmbH, they develop and produce absorbable magnesium implants. They are used, for example, in the event of a bone fracture and ensure that the broken bone parts grow together again in the body. The highlight: The implant dissolves after 18 to 24 months, meaning there is no need for a follow-up operation to remove the implant.

In 2017, together with another doctoral student from RWTH Aachen, they founded a second company called Fibrothelium GmbH. The focus of the founders this time: silk. Here, too, they are interested in reliable, sustainable implants that dissolve when they are no longer needed. While Meotec is concerned with the hard tissue of the body, i.e. bones, Fibrothelium is dedicated to the soft tissue.

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  • Photos: Fibrothelium GmbH
  • Text: Lothar Schmitz, business journalist Bonn

Christoph Ptock,
CEO

“Silk is perfected by nature and has fascinating properties”

The innovation

What Fibrothelium has in common with the fashion industry: Just like them, the Aachen start-up buys the silk cocoons of the so-called mulberry moth as raw material. Through an exclusive contract with Swiss farms, the cocoons first reach Aachen and are then chopped up and cooked, i.e. the silk thread is broken down into its main components, namely fibroin and sericin. Only then is the secret ingredient added in a process in which the silk protein fibroin is transformed a water-based silk solution that can be used in a variety of ways Ptock and Kopp and their team developed the process themselves and had it protected. The liquid silk fibroin is then used to create a wide variety of products for medical applications.

Why silk? “Silk is perfected by nature and has fascinating properties,” explains Ptock, “it is highly stable, light as a feather, breathable and biodegradable.” The biomaterial fibroin forms a scaffolding structure in the body in the affected area that promotes the formation of soft tissue. Areas of application include dentistry and dermatology. Through metabolic processes, the implants can be broken down in the body, while newly acquired tissue takes over the function of the disappearing implant. An example of use: the jaw. Among other things, fibrothelium produces special membranes from fibroin, which serve as a natural barrier between the built-up bone and the soft tissue of the gums during jaw surgery. In this way, the new bone tissue can form in peace and a dental implant can finally be inserted with enough space for anchoring.

Fibrothelium a use for sericin - actually a waste product from the production of fibroin - : it is increasingly playing a role as a natural ingredient in cosmetic products, such as creams. “We therefore sell the liquid sericin to cosmetics manufacturers and thereby avoid wasting resources,” emphasizes Kopp.

More about fibrothelium
7
employees
7
various fibroin products
8
Network partners from industry and research

The NRW effect

The path from the idea to development to the sale of the finished product is long, which is partly due to the complex certification of medical devices. “You have to expect a lead time of three to five years,” explains Ptock, “the return on investment comes late.” A lot can go wrong during this time, which is why investors are very sensitive in this segment. “Fortunately, we were able to acquire funding here in North Rhine-Westphalia,” says Kopp. Among other things, the company successfully took part in an ERDF lead market competition run by the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs . “That was extremely important for us so that we could advance our developments,” adds Ptock. In addition, the small company, which already had seven employees at the beginning of 2023, made its technology base available for development partnerships with other companies and was thus able to generate sales before its first product was certified. Ptock and Kopp don't just value NRW as a location because of the good funding structure. Fibrothelium maintains very close collaborations with RWTH Aachen, FH Aachen, University Hospital Aachen and Research Center Jülich. “ The enormous density of high-class clinics and research facilities that we have here in North Rhine-Westphalia plays a very important role for us ,” praises Ptock. Fibrothelium's first product has already been approved for the European market. However, further products have been in development for a long time and will soon come onto the market.

Christoph Ptock,
CEO

“Fortunately, we were able to acquire funding here in North Rhine-Westphalia. That was extremely important for us so that we could advance our developments.”

More about health

Transformation through innovation

Background to the publication series

The publication series “Transformation through Innovation” is intended to illustrate how companies in North Rhine-Westphalia have been able to write successful innovation stories thanks to the framework conditions created by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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