UPM Biomedicals Unveils Injectable Hydrogel for Medical Devices

UPM Biomedicals has launched a natural injectable hydrogel for permanent implantable medical devices. A nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel made from birch wood cellulose and water only, FibGel offers a safe, sustainable, biocompatible alternative for medical device developers.

Designed and manufactured under ISO 13485 standards in Finland and designed for medical applications, FibGel is poised to transform the fields of soft tissue repair, orthopedics, regenerative medicine, and other medical sectors.

Unlike synthetic and animal-derived hydrogels, FibGel is a natural hydrogel—manufactured from renewable and responsibly-sourced Finnish birch wood—offering a safe, sustainable, animal-free solution. As a stable, non-degradable material, FibGel is designed for long-lasting use in the human body without causing adverse immune reactions or the formation of fibrotic capsules common to animal-derived and plastic-based alternatives.

FibGel is customizable due to its tunable properties that allow adjustable stiffness and the incorporation of additional components. This flexibility enables tailored solutions for varying clinical needs and holds promise in a wide range of medical applications, including soft tissue repair, orthopedic treatments, aesthetics, drug delivery, and cell transplantation. The company’s first partners are planning their initial clinical investigations based on FibGel technology in 2025.

UPM has extensive expertise in developing sustainable, animal-free hydrogels and rigorous testing has demonstrated FibGel’s biocompatibility. Based on the preclinical studies, its stability supports permanent implant and one-time injection applications, critical for patient convenience and saving health care providers’ time. FibGel is highly tunable, easy to use and remains injectable even at high stiffness thanks to its shear thinning properties.

“We are thrilled to be the first company to develop plant-based nanocellulose for use in medical devices. It enables minimally invasive procedures, which compared to surgery means rapid patient recovery,” UPM Biomedicals Director Johana Kuncová-Kallio stated. “In 2020 we launched our own FibDex topical medical device (MDD/MDR, class IIb) for advanced wound care, which has been used to successfully treat several hundreds of patients. Now, with the launch of FibGel, we can provide the same safe, sustainable, animal-free material in an injectable hydrogel form to medical device companies. Based on our pre-clinical evidence for FibGel, our initial partners have been able to speed up their device development and are now planning to start the clinical phase in 2025. We aim to partner with more companies interested in developing new solutions in the areas of soft tissue repair, joint and disk repair, wound care, drug delivery and cell therapy based on FibGel technology.”

FibGel also benefits from robust temperature stability, enabling it to be handled and stored at room temperature for ease of use and quick preparation. Its 18-month minimum shelf life delivers reliable performance without special storage conditions, reducing logistical challenges.

UPM Biomedicals produces nanofibrillar cellulose for medical and life science applications. More than 300 patents protect the existing and future products that rely on the Finnish birch pulp. The company actively collaborate with universities, research centers, and key industrial partners on future innovations and products in the field of high throughput drug screening, personalized medicine, advanced cell therapies, 3D bioprinting, tissue engineering, and advanced wound care.