StentUp – Regenerative stents that help blood vessels restore themselves

Narrowed or damaged blood vessels are a major cause of illness worldwide. Traditional stents can keep a vessel open, but they do not support real healing and often come with risks such as scar tissue, repeat procedures and long-term medication. StentUp explores a different path using SBMC’s state-of-the-art GMP cleanrooms on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven to develop regenerative stents that help blood vessels repair themselves.

A new chapter in vascular repair

In this project, STENTiT and SBMC join forces to advance a new class of endovascular implants. STENTiT developed the Resorbable Fibrillated Scaffold (RFS). A first-in-class endovascular scaffold that acts as a stent while triggering a natural restoring response to gradually transform into a newly grown artery. The first target indication is focused on below-the-knee Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia. This debilitating disease affects 3.5M patients in the EU and US, causing 250K amputations annually. STENTiT’s RFS technology aims to regenerate the artery, improve vascular patency, and reduce amputations.

What the project works on

The StentUp team focuses on several key steps that bring the technology closer to patients:

• Expanding the range of RFS implant sizes, so the solution can support more patient anatomies.
• Scaling up production, taking the technology from laboratory prototypes to pilot manufacturing.
• Translating the technology into stable, repeatable processes ready for regulated medical production.
• Building quality and certification pathways in preparation for future clinical use.
• Producing an early clinical-grade batch, essential for the next phase of testing.
• Carrying out process development and manufacturing in SBMC’s GMP cleanrooms, designed specifically for the development, production and quality assurance of advanced biomaterials and implantable devices.
• Sharing knowledge within the regional ecosystem, connecting engineers, scientists and clinicians working on regenerative medicine.

Why it matters

If successful, regenerative stents could reduce the number of follow-up procedures, limit long-term medication and offer patients a treatment that restores the vessel rather than merely keeping it open. For the region, StentUp reinforces the strong position of Brainport as a leader in high-tech biomedical innovation.

Supported by partners

The project is co-funded by EFRO/OPZuid, with additional support from the Dutch national government and the Province of North Brabant.