ACell

ACell, Incorporated is a Columbia, Maryland-based biotechnology company. The company works in regenerative medicine, in which it owns several extracellular matrix patents. ACell develops, manufactures and markets products for medical and veterinary applications. The company is founded by Alan R. Spievack, a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School and currently run by Patrick A. McBrayer.
ACell’s ECM is derived from the lamina propria and basement membrane of a porcine Urinary Bladder Matrix (UBM). The lamina propria acts as a scaffold for cell infiltration while the basement membrane encourages the growth of site-specific tissue as the UBM resorbs. The UBM is offered in both sheet and powder form. The powder form has been informally referenced as “pixie dust” but is sold under the brand name of MicroMatrix. The Company offers products for wound management (Cytal and MicroMatrix), hernia repair (Gentrix) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse repair (Pelvic Floor Matrix).
The clinical data related to the use of ACell’s MatriStem UBM continues to grow with over 100 published papers.
ACell's use of porcine cellular structure, called MatriStem, as a scaffold for human tissue regeneration was named the "medical breakthrough of the year" by "Esquire". The use of pig bladder ground up into "magical pixie dust" to regrow Spievak's brother's finger received considerable mainstream coverage. Ken Muneoka of Tulane University, who works with ACell's scientific advisors on US-government funded investigations into regenerative medicine, said that the news should be viewed with caution because it was not a controlled study.
On January 5, 2020, Integra LifeSciences acquired the company for $400 million.