YORK regenerative medicine company Tissue Regenix is looking to enter the American market.

The business, which has developed a patented formula for stripping animal tissue of DNA so it can be used for transplants in the human body, is one of 20 of the UK’s most innovative health technology businesses to have won a place on a trade mission to Boston run by the Technology Strategy Board.

During the Future Health Mission, which started today and runs for a week, the companies will meet investors, supply chain partners and customers, followed by the AdvaMed conference.

Adrian Ford, business development manager of Tissue Regenix, said the company had already applied to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell its products in the US.

He said the trip would enable the company to raise its profile ahead of launching in the US in the next two to three years, to make a first contact with investors and to see what competition there was.

Mr Ford said: “From the point of view of regenerative medicine, the US is by far the biggest market. It represents somewhere in the region of 80 per cent of the world total market so it is somewhere every serious company looks to gain a foothold.”

The business already sells through a number of distributors in five different markets in Europe and is also applying for approval to trade in Canada, which it hopes to begin in the next 18 months.

Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said that to date, previous missions have secured more than $200 million for UK businesses and provided critical links to overseas interest.

“The UK has one of the world’s largest and most productive life science sectors. We have identified it as a key growth sector, and it will play a central role in our plan to get 100,000 more companies exporting by 2020. The 20 companies taking part in the Future Health Mission will fly the flag for British innovation and demonstrate to a global audience that UK entrepreneurialism and UK life sciences are in better shape than ever.”