Shares in biotech Orthocell (ASX:OCC) are on the move again today after the company reported further positive results for its CelGro technology.

Patients who completed the company’s CelGro tendon regeneration trial reported they had regained normal shoulder function following surgery, with 89 per cent of patients returning to work and recreation pain-free.

Orthocell’s CelGro technology makes collagen scaffolds. The technique involves using collagen — the glue that holds our bodies together — as a scaffold on which cells and tissues can grow.

Participants in this particular trial had previously suffered full thickness tears of the rotator cuff tendon in the shoulder following work-related, motor vehicle or sporting accidents. Patients experienced chronic pain and difficulty performing basic tasks such as sleeping, bathing and dressing, as well as playing sport or working.

Shares in the company rose 25 per cent to 50c on the news. Earlier this year they hit 78c, when the technology was shown to improve sensation and muscle function in patients with damaged nerves.

Patient Kevin Winfield said he agreed to take part in the trial after growing ever more hopeless his condition would improve.

“The tendon in my right shoulder was frayed at the ends and difficult to repair because I’d left it so long. When Dr Allan Wang said that being in the CelGro study might improve outcomes, I thought it would be worth trying,” he said.

“I’m an active person and wanted long-lasting mobility, without going under the knife again and again. That’s why CelGro made sense for me. So much so, I have gone back to get my other shoulder done.”

Professor Wang said an effective biological augment to surgical repair for those suffering from such tears is “increasingly desired” by the orthopaedic community.

Paul Anderson, Orthocell managing director, previously said the sky was the limit for his company.

“We are extremely excited by the clinical follow up results indicating effectiveness of CelGro in reducing the surgical revision rate. CelGro is proving to be a breakthrough soft tissue reconstruction platform technology with positive data announced now in nerve, tendon and bone applications,” he said.

In other ASX health news today:

Immuron’s (ASX:IMC) drug shows efficacy against traveller’s diarrhoea. Travelan, an over-the-counter gastro health supplement, has been shown to bind and react to a variety of infectious vibrio cholera strains from Southeast Asia. Sponsored by the US department of defense, the trial saw shares gain 24 per cent to 13c.

IDT Australia (ASX:IDT) finally escapes the clutches of the FDA. The US Food and Drug Administration in May last year sent IDT a warning letter due to serious concerns about the company’s internal processes. IDT today announced it had received notice from the FDA that the warning letter had been lifted.

Cynata (ASX:CYP) to appear in medical journal. A pre-clinical study of Cynata’s stem cells as a means to prevent organ transplant rejection will appear in leading peer-reviewed journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Shares in the company rose 3 per cent to $1.65.