EmCyte founder, President and CEO Patrick Pennie holds one of the Fort Myers company’s platelet-concentrating devices. Pennie began developing regenerative therapies in 1999 while working as a critical care nurse and perfusionist.
Brian Tietz
In 1999, a Fort Myers critical care nurse and perfusionist — a specialist whose job includes operating a heart-lung machine to facilitate open-heart surgery — began harnessing patients’ blood to produce self-healing medicine.
That was a first step into regenerative therapeutics for Patrick Pennie. He has since become a pioneer in the field, continually refining his initial efforts to produce concentrated doses of platelet-based treatments designed to heal an increasing number of maladies.
“That is the part that keeps me going after all these years,” Pennie says. “Because we are actually making a significant difference in patients’ lives.”
Pennie’s old job as a nurse and perfusionist included collecting platelets — microscopic cells in blood — during and after surgery. He used the cells to help patients retain clotting capabilities and prevent post-operative bleeding, but it also was clear that they functioned as part of the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
Inspired, Pennie sought to develop a platelet-rich plasma formulation that he could graft onto a wound. Pennie recalled first using the formula to restore blood flow to a patient’s leg, saving it from amputation.
“After having that experience, it set me on this journey,” Pennie says, “because now there was proof of concept.”
EmCyte’s technology concentrates platelets from a patient’s blood for use in regenerative treatments. The Fort Myers company develops biologic systems used by sports medicine physicians, surgeons and other medical providers.
Brian Tietz
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Pennie grew up in New York City where he studied to become a critical care nurse at Hunter College. He worked at Veterans Affairs Medical Center and helped treat HIV/AIDS patients in the late 1980s. In 1990, he relocated to Fort Lauderdale to attend Barry University, where he studied to become a perfusionist. Pennie landed his first job after graduation at Lee Memorial Health Park, where he said he gained experience working on more than 1,000 open heart surgeries.
His initial success with regenerative therapy required treating a patient with multiple therapies over the course of about six months. For close to three decades, Pennie has stayed the course, working to make regenerative therapies faster, more powerful and easier to access.
In 2008, he founded EmCyte Corporation, a biologics manufacturing company in Fort Myers. Its products are sold to medical facilities and widely used by sports medicine physicians and surgeons.
Pennie is president and CEO of the company, which has patented more than 10 designs as he continues to refine his initial concepts, helping turn elements of blood and bone marrow into healing biologics. His systems use ultra-high concentrations of platelets while minimizing red blood cell contamination.
“The idea there was to develop technology that would collect the highest concentration of platelets from the smallest volume of blood, so that we’re able to maintain a certain threshold that would be effective enough to heal a wound,” Pennie says. “And that’s where the innovation started.”
Meanwhile, EmCyte’s 50,000-square-foot facility has grown to include clinical training and research components through its Biofyl Scientific Research lab and Gulf Coast Biologics Training Center.
The company’s latest platelet-based formulation was awarded a bronze medal this year at the 39th annual Edison Awards in Fort Myers — “The Oscars of Innovation” — in the Medical & Biotech Precision Health Technologies category. It is designed to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, breaking new ground for its precision, potency and ease of use. But it’s a mouthful to pronounce: EmCyte’s Pure SupraPhysiologic Concentrating System with AspiraDome Technology.
The product was among the largest group of entries at the Edisons in medical technologies, a global showcase of innovations engineered to help patients lead longer, healthier lives.
EmCyte Corp. manufactures platelet-based regenerative medicine technology at its 50,000-square-foot Fort Myers facility. Founder Patrick Pennie has spent nearly three decades refining systems designed to concentrate platelets and other biologics.
Brian Tietz
“They’re able to treat diseases in ways they’ve never been able to treat them before,” says Edison Awards Executive Director Frank Bonafilia. “You’re seeing an acceleration in health and biological technology.”
EmCyte’s system offers an ultra-high dose of platelets and stem cell biologics through a simple injection. It takes about 10 minutes at a doctor’s office, offering an alternative to surgery for maladies such as ligament tears, joint injuries, chondral defects and arthritis.
Pennie’s formulations have been cleared by the FDA for orthopedic applications while EmCyte is working to gain approved uses for a wide variety of other conditions. The company’s products are already commonly used off-label for dermatological purposes and, more recently, for infertility treatments. While Pennie declined to share specific costs of treatments, he said they vary widely and are usually paid out of pocket.
The plasma formulations are injected at the injured site, where they “recruit” other cells, beginning a natural process that generates new blood vessels and tissue.
“We’re providing patients with sustainable, durable relief without surgery,” Pennie says. “We’re really having a patient heal themselves.”