Matricelf, a regenerative medicine company based in Ness Ziona, said it won first place in the Innovation Exchange Award at Advanced Therapies Week 2026, a conference held in San Diego focused on cell and gene therapies.
Conference organizers said the company was selected by a panel of industry experts from among hundreds of biotech firms and startups participating in the event, which drew about 1,800 attendees and some 600 drug developers from around the world.
1 View gallery
Gil Hakim, CEO of Matricelf, and Lee Buckler, Vice President, Advanced Therapies Blood Centers of America
(Photo: PR)
The award recognized Matricelf’s work on a potential treatment for spinal cord injuries using a personalized neural implant derived from a patient’s own tissue.
The company, founded by Prof. Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Alon Sinai, is developing a therapy based on an autologous, or patient-specific, implant. The process begins with a biopsy of abdominal fat tissue to create a hydrogel, along with a blood sample used to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. Over approximately six months, the cells undergo differentiation and tissue engineering to produce a neural implant designed to be inserted at the site of spinal cord injury in an effort to restore nerve function.
Matricelf said earlier this month that it had completed a series of safety tests, including RNA sequencing, and reported that the implant cells were genomically stable and did not show characteristics associated with tumor formation. The company described the results as a step toward seeking regulatory approval to begin human clinical trials.
Gil Hakim, the company’s chief executive, said the recognition at the conference comes as Matricelf prepares to initiate clinical research in patients with spinal cord injuries in the coming months.
Advanced Therapies Week is considered a major annual gathering in the regenerative medicine sector, bringing together companies, researchers and investors in the field.