IOF is proud to have a global membership filled with unique perspectives that are shaping the future of orthobiologics. Dr. Zaid Matti, a specialist based in New Zealand, is one of those voices.
We recently chatted with Dr. Matti about what it’s like to participate in IOF from across the world, the importance of international collaboration, and the innovations driving regenerative medicine forward.
Get to know Dr. Matti
Dr. Zaid Matti is a Specialist in Musculoskeletal Medicine and founder of the NZ Musculoskeletal & Regenerative Medicine Centre in Auckland, where he has dedicated the past decade to refining non-surgical solutions for osteoarthritis and tendinopathy. His practice is firmly rooted in IOF’s rigorous educational frameworks and enriched by extensive hands-on training in the United States.
At his clinic, Dr. Matti delivers precision ultrasound- and fluoroscopy-guided orthobiologic therapies—including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and autologous stem-cell injections—alongside neuromuscular prolotherapy. He remains vigilant in reviewing the latest clinical data, customizing each treatment protocol to a patient’s age, disease severity, and functional objectives, and integrating tailored rehabilitation and nutritional strategies to maximize recovery and long-term joint health.
As Medical Director of RegenCellular Ltd—New Zealand’s first commercial stem-cell therapy provider—Dr. Matti collaborates with international bodies such as the IOF, the Orthobiologics Ethics Consortium, and the Spine Intervention Society. A passionate advocate for ethical, evidence-based practice, he promotes high-quality standards across research, marketing, and clinical application. He regularly presents at global conferences, sharing insights on standardized dosing, image-guided delivery, and ethical best practices to advance the field.
Connect with Dr. Matti
Conversation with Dr. Matti
What is it like to attend IOF courses and conferences as an international member?
Attending IOF events from New Zealand is both professionally invigorating and personally affirming. The hands-on workshops allow me to refine advanced Image-guided injection techniques under the direct tutelage of world-renowned faculty, while the scientific sessions present a breadth of case studies and protocols from across Europe, North America, and Asia. Beyond the technical knowledge, IOF fosters a genuine sense of camaraderie: it is the one forum where my questions about orthobiologic innovations are met not with skepticism but with shared enthusiasm and rigorous debate. In an otherwise isolating clinical environment, IOF meetings remind me that I am part of a global community advancing regenerative medicine together.
Why is international collaboration so important for advancing orthobiologics?
The ethical use of orthobiologics involves multiple disciplines—orthopaedics, cellular biology, immunology, imaging, biomechanics, and more. No single centre or country can generate the volume and diversity of data required to optimize therapies. International collaboration:
- Pools Resources & Data: Multicentre registries and shared biorepositories enable statistically robust analyses of outcomes and mechanistic biomarkers.
- Standardizes Protocols: Consensus definitions (e.g., leukocyte‐rich vs. leukocyte‐poor PRP) and unified processing requirements improve reproducibility across studies.
- Harmonizes Regulation: Engaging regulators in multiple jurisdictions streamlines trial approvals and market pathways, reducing duplication and accelerating patient access.
- Enriches Perspective: Diverse healthcare systems and patient populations reveal unique challenges—be they cost‐effectiveness in public systems or logistical barriers in geographically dispersed regions.
This synergy transforms promising laboratory findings into safe, effective, and widely accessible treatments.
Thanks to a growing body of evidence, orthobiologics has transitioned from “does it work?” to “how can we make it better?” What are some of the most exciting innovations or refinements you’ve seen recently?
- Defining the Minimal Effective Dose (MED): We’re now identifying the “dimple” of PRP—that is, the minimal effective concentration and volume required to achieve clinical benefit in osteoarthritis. This allows us to critically appraise past studies that inadvertently used subclinical doses and to design future trials with rigorously standardized dosing.
- Combination Biologics and Scaffolds: Integrating PRP with extracellular‐matrix scaffolds and MSC‐based injectables continues to show synergistic effects, enhancing cellular recruitment, scaffold integration, and matrix remodelling in both cartilage and soft‐tissue applications.
- Adjunctive Physical Modalities: Early data suggest that pairing injectables with shockwave therapy, low‐level laser therapy, or ultrasound‐assisted delivery can potentiate tissue repair—accelerating symptom relief and functional recovery.
- Age- and Pathology-Adjusted Dosing: We’re tailoring PRP formulations not only to the target tissue but also to patient age and severity of disease. Older patients and those with advanced arthritis receive higher platelet counts and growth‐factor loads, whereas younger or early‐stage patients may respond optimally to lower doses.
- Expanded Indications: Beyond joints and tendons, there is growing interest in nerve‐targeted orthobiologic interventions—for example, perineural PRP for entrapment neuropathies—and in treating severe, late‐stage osteoarthritis with combination cell therapies.
Along the same lines, what do you think the conversation in orthobiologics will be about in 5 years? 10 years?
In 5 Years: Point-of-care biochemical and genomic profiling will guide the selection and formulation of orthobiologic therapies. Integrated digital health platforms—wearable sensors and telemonitoring—will track healing in real time, allowing dynamic adjustment of rehabilitation protocols.
In 10 Years: We will see regenerative care pathways embedded in standard guidelines for osteoarthritis, tendinopathies, and early degenerative spine conditions. Engineered tissue constructs, enabled by 3D bioprinting of patient‐derived cells, may achieve regulatory approval for complex reconstructions such as meniscal replacements. Continuous machine-learning analyses of global registry data will refine best practices and cost‐effectiveness models.
What has helped regenerative medicine to become more mainstream?
- Rigorous Clinical Trials: Publication of randomized, controlled studies in top journals (e.g., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, PM&R) demonstrating meaningful pain relief and functional gains.
- Professional Guidelines: Evidence-based position statements from societies such as AAOS and ESSKA have provided clear recommendations, lending authority to orthobiologics.
- Regulatory Engagement: Proactive submissions of real-world safety data and standardized reporting have demystified approval pathways, distancing legitimate clinics from unregulated “stem-cell” operations.
- Patient Advocacy & Education: As patients share validated success stories, mainstream media coverage has shifted from skepticism to measured optimism, driving demand and institutional acceptance.
What is it like to specialize in regenerative medicine in New Zealand? How is the industry viewed there?
Regenerative medicine in New Zealand is often perceived alongside traditional “alternative” therapies—acupunctur and herbal remedies—even though orthobiologic approaches such as PRP and MSC treatments rest on a far more robust evidence base. This general consensus casts the field as a fringe option, contributing to professional marginalisation. ACC’s (Accident Compensation Corporation) continued categorization of cellular therapies as “unapproved,” based on literature reviews from 2011–2012, only deepens this stigma. Despite a decade of escalating high-quality trials, patients must navigate appeals for coverage, diverting focus from care to bureaucratic advocacy. Geographic isolation—few in-person visits from international thought leaders—and the absence of a formal local accreditation pathway mean clinicians piece together training via overseas fellowships and sporadic workshops. Added logistical hurdles—customs delays on kits, erratic supply chains for scaffolds—compound the sense of working in a vacuum. Taken together, these forces leave practitioners feeling side-lined and, at times, lonely—making IOF meetings the sole venue where regenerative medicine is acknowledged as the rigorous, evidence-driven specialty it truly is.
What factors do you weigh most when choosing between orthobiologic treatment options?
- Patient Profile: Age, activity level, comorbidities (diabetes, smoking status) and functional goals.
- Biologic Characteristics: Platelet concentration, leukocyte content, specific growth-factor and cytokine profiles, and need for adjunctive elements (e.g., hyaluronic acid).
- Procedural Logistics: Volume of injectate, processing time, cost considerations, and requirements for sedation or anesthesia.
- Evidence Base: Level and consistency of clinical data for the specific indication.
- Post-Procedure Rehabilitation: Feasibility of targeted physiotherapy, patient adherence, and available multidisciplinary support.
Balancing these variables ensures the chosen therapy aligns with the patient’s needs and the anatomical pathology.
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing regenerative medicine providers and the field?
Opportunities:
- Digital Integration: Wearable sensors and remote monitoring to track tissue healing and functional recovery in real time.
- Biomarker-Driven Personalization: Circulating microRNAs, exosome profiles, and proteomic signatures to refine patient selection and predict responses.
- Scalable Manufacturing: Automated cell-expansion platforms and point-of-care device miniaturization to lower per-treatment costs and broaden access.
Challenges:
- Standardization & Quality Control: Ensuring consistent potency, sterility, and safety across diverse clinical settings.
- Reimbursement & Economics: Convincing payers to fund novel biologics absent long-term health-economic data.
- Education & Credentialing: Establishing formal training pathways and credentialing standards to guarantee clinician competence and patient safety.
Where do you think the field is heading next?
My vision is for regenerative therapies to transition from last-resort interventions to integral components of early intervention strategies—preventing the progression of musculoskeletal degeneration rather than merely mitigating its symptoms. Achieving this will demand sustained global collaboration—through IOF and beyond—where shared expertise, data, and regulatory alignment continually propel the field forward.