Technology Challenge and Industry Commitment. Industry support for the ATP focused program on tissue engineering is expressed in over 50 white papers. Basic research and initial feasibility studies of particularly promising applications have been conducted at numerous academic centers supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Pugh Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the Howard Hughes Foundation, among others. Although this early research often has been promising, significant technical challenges remain before the technologies can be commercialized and the nation can reap the benefits. Significance of ATP Funds.
Tissue engineering is a technology just emerging from basic research.
ATP support targets basic underlying technologies that industry will need to make possible artificial organs, xenografts, and other dramatic tissue-engineering therapies of the future. The ATP Tissue Engineering Program provides a focal point for U.S. research in this field, promoting and strengthening industrial alliances among companies with complementary ideas and technical capabilities. The ATP focused program specifically does not address the development of non-biological implants such as the metal or plastic valves, joints, pacemakers and other devices currently in clinical use.