amp2
(2)
Luis Alvarez
Luis Alvarez is the founder and CEO of Theradaptive, a Frederick, Maryland biotech engineering proteins that latch onto implants and surgical materials to trigger the body to regrow bone, cartilage, and other tissue exactly where it is needed. A retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and MIT-trained biological engineer, he traced the idea back to a combat tour in Iraq, where soldiers under his command lost limbs to delayed amputations. Theradaptive has since won multiple FDA Breakthrough Device Designations, raised more than $43 million, and moved its lead protein, AMP2, into human clinical trials.
Theradaptive
Theradaptive is a clinical-stage biotech in Frederick, Maryland that re-engineers therapeutic proteins so they bind to materials and stay exactly where a surgeon places them. Its lead protein, AMP2, is a material-binding variant of the bone-growth protein rhBMP-2; combined with an implantable scaffold it becomes OsteoAdapt, a regenerative product being tested in spinal fusion, dental, and orthopedic procedures. Founded by MIT-trained Army veteran Luis Alvarez after seeing battlefield injuries, the company aims to make biologics safer by keeping them on-target.