Jul 30 2014
Imbed Biosciences, Inc, a medical device company developing advanced materials for wound healing and surgical applications, announced today that it has been awarded a $1.5M competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a division of National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Ankit Agarwal, PhD, Founder/CEO of Imbed and the Principal Investigator on the grant, said, “This award supports our ongoing investment to develop unique polymeric nanofilm dressings containing silver nanoparticles. The dressing would allow closure of hard-to-heal burns and chronic wounds without infection or silver toxicity.” In Phase I, company validated the feasibility of employing these ultrathin conformal wound dressings in contaminated wounds in mice, which expedited wound closure by reducing bacterial colonization.
“It a very competitive award, which validates the uniqueness of this polymeric nanofilm technology. A significant merit is that the concept is adaptable to delivery of a wide range of bioactive molecules on tissue surfaces, providing a broadly applicable healthcare materials platform,” said co-founder Nicholas Abbott, PhD, Professor in Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“This next-generation wound dressing will be applicable at the onset of any wound treatment plan without silver toxicity. The nanofilm dressing dissolves in wound over time, potentially reducing painful dressing changes,” said co-founder Prof. Michael Schurr, MD, burn and trauma surgeon in School of Medicine at University of Colorado, Denver.
With this funding, Imbed plans to begin testing the nanofilm dressing in pigs. “Clinical data from porcine wounds will be used to obtain regulatory clearance for human clinical trials,” said co-founder Prof. Jonathan McAnulty, DVM, PhD, leading porcine studies as a part of this grant in School of Veterinary Medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Wound healing research is an important component of the NIAMS portfolio. It is part of an effort to reduce the impact of human skin wounds on public health and the economy. This SBIR Phase II award to Imbed Bio reflects our commitment to meet this public need,” said Dr. Hung Tseng, Program Director of the Skin Repair, Regeneration and Pigmentation Program in the Division of Skin and Rheumatic Diseases at the NIAMS.
“We have a team of renowned experts in surface engineering, microbiology and surgical sciences committed to bring this wound healing nanofilm technology into clinics,” said Agarwal.
Source: http://www.imbedbio.com/