Maybio Achieves Global Breakthrough: First Report of Non-Animal Collagen Hydrogel for Mandibular Retrognathia Treatment via Tissue Regeneration

Recently, the R&D team of Maybio published a groundbreaking study titled "Human extracellular matrix-like collagen-based hydrogels for soft tissue regeneration and mandibular retrognathia treatment" in Advanced Healthcare Materials (IF>10), a top-tier journal under Wiley publishing group specializing in biomaterials, tissue engineering and medical devices.

This collaborative research involved experts from Maybio's R&D Center, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering at Sichuan University, and Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, with Dr. Eric Xiao (Postdoc, UPenn; CEO of Maybio; Deputy Director of Hunan Intelligent Bionic Maxillofacial Regenerative Materials Engineering Technology Research Center) as first author.

Mandibular retrognathia, a common craniofacial deformity severely impairing oral function and facial aesthetics, affects 1.5%–5% of the global population, with over 20 million patients in China. Traditional treatments like orthognathic osteotomy and autologous bone grafting involve significant trauma, prolonged recovery, high complication risks, and excessive costs. Although hyaluronic acid fillers offer minimally invasive short-term volume restoration, their lack of bioactive signaling limits tissue regeneration, resulting in poor long-term volume retention and safety concerns.

Dr. Eric Xiao and Prof. Qiang Wei’s team at Maybio has pioneered human-derived engineered cell expression technology, developing a 3D culture system that achieved the world’s first mass production of human collagen. Their findings were published in Biomacromolecules, Regenerative Biomaterials, and Cell Stem Cell. In their latest study, human collagen was successfully applied to clinical soft tissue repair, marking the first use of non-animal extracellular matrix protein for chin augmentation.

Maybio’s human extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimetic hydrogel provides a biomechanical microenvironment that enhances immunomodulation, adipogenic differentiation, and anti-aging effects. By replicating the biochemical and mechanical properties of natural ECM, it is a renewable material with structural support, bioactive signaling, and mechanical compatibility.

The clinical transformation efficiency of this innovative achievement has been vividly interpreted in the treatment of patients with mandibular retraction. As shown in the figure below, this hydrogel showed a progressive and sustained effect on the remodeling and functional improvement of the patient's jaw. Its unique tissue inducing ability and modulus similar to adipose tissue make it very effective in enhancing the facial contour and improving the structural aesthetics. It not only provides a new solution for tissue regeneration and functional recovery, but also is expected to reduce the medical burden of repeated treatment, improve the quality of life of patients, and promote the clinical transformation and social application of regenerative medicine in the field of facial reconstruction and anti-aging.

Schematic Diagram of Cell-Engineered Human Collagen Hydrogel for Mandibular Retrognathia Treatment

From the R & D and design of biomaterials to the systematic innovation of clinical transformation, Maybio used non animal collagen for the first time for supporting filling, significantly improving the safety and biocompatibility of the material. Its research and development goes deep into the mechanism of mechanical regulation. By constructing gel materials with specific mechanical properties and simulating the mechanical environment of human tissues, it truly realizes accurate tissue regeneration for the first time. The application of soft tissue regeneration in mandibular retraction is just the starting point. Maybio is expanding this technology to a broader and more complex repair and regeneration scene, solving the problem of soft tissue regeneration, and continuously promoting the revolutionary transformation of regenerative medicine from "passive filling" to "autologous regeneration". Regeneration as You will,Maybio will continue to move forward with this mission. 

Beijing Maybio Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd., focuses on the R & D and application of human-derived engineered cell ex vivo expression technologies. It is the only high-tech enterprise in the world that has realized the commercial mass production of ECM recombinant human collagen. With the annual production capacity of 800,000 sterile gels and an output value of nearly ¥1 billion, it has jointly built an intelligent bionic maxillofacial renewable material research center with Hunan University, undertakes China's 14th Five-Year National Key R&D Program, and is the first enterprise in China to complete the classification and definition of recombinant human collagen raw materials. Current product portfolio includes:recombinant human collagen series, human extracellular Matrix (ECM) Derivatives, PLLA, PCL series, collagen-based hydrogels for maxillofacial regeneration, etc.