Life-Saving Technology That Stops Severe Bleeding Awarded $500k Fed Grant

Life-Saving Technology That Stops Severe Bleeding Awarded $500k Fed Grant

Remedium Technologies, a medical device company founded by University of Maryland engineers has been awarded a $500,000 federal small business innovation research grant to test the company's high-pressure, sprayable foam for rapidly halting bleeding caused by traumatic injuries.

In collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Maryland, Remedium will complete pre-clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its Hemogrip™ foam in controlling non-compressible hemorrhaging, bleeding that cannot be slowed or stopped using direct pressure. Hemogrip foam can be sprayed into an injured body cavity, where it expands and adheres to tissue to stop hemorrhaging within minutes. There are currently no hemostatic products available for treatment of non-compressible bleeds, which account for 85 percent of hemorrhage-related deaths.

The grant will also support additional UMD product research by the Complex Fluids and Nanomaterials Group in the Clark School of Engineering, directed by Remedium co-founder Professor Srinivasa Raghavan (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering).

"Remedium is honored to be recognized for its product development progress with this important Phase II funding from the National Science Foundation," said Matthew Dowling (Ph.D. '10, bioengineering), CEO and co-founder of Remedium. "We are enthusiastic in approaching pre-clinical trials with a product we see as critical in addressing non-compressible hemorrhage, which is one of the biggest unmet needs in trauma medicine today," said Dowling.

Hemogrip's life-saving technology is based on chitosan—a natural biopolymer found in the exoskeleton of shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans. Chitosan is unique as a natural material because it is biocompatible, anti-microbial, and highly durable under a wide range of environmental conditions. When applied to wounds, Hemogrip creates a nano-scale, three-dimensional mesh, rapidly coagulating blood and staunching blood loss.

The Hemogrip Foam is dispensed from a handheld, lightweight canister that is easy to use by surgeons, soldiers and consumers alike. It can be removed quickly and easily without damaging tissue, and since it is based on chitosan—the second most abundant biopolymer on earth—it is also inexpensive.

Both the current $500,000 grant and an earlier $150,000 SBIR Phase I grant were awarded to Remedium by the National Science Foundation. The company's research has also been supported by two Maryland Industrial Partnerships grants totaling $206,000, a $140,000 Maryland Proof of Concept Alliance grant, a $75,000 Maryland Technology Development Corporation Maryland Technology Transfer Fund grant, and a $200,000 Maryland Biotechnology Center Translational Research Award. In 2009, it received the UMD's Outstanding Invention of the Year Award in the Life Sciences from the Office of Technology and Commercialization.

The young company has been highly successful in business plan competitions, including winning first prize in the Community Resilience and Homeland Security division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's 2010 Global Venture Challenge; the "Most Promising Security Idea" award in the 2009 4th Annual Global Security Challenge; and 2nd place in the Faculty and Graduate Student Division of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute's 2007 $50K Business Plan Competition. Most recently, Remedium was a finalist in the Invest Maryland Challenge, a national early-stage business competition offering grants and services to high-tech and life sciences startups located or interested in moving to the State of Maryland.

The company has six patents pending related to the Hemogrip platform. Its products, which also include surgical sprays and bandages, are designed to be used by surgeons, soldiers, EMTs, or even unskilled helpers, in locations ranging from the operating room to the battlefield to emergency situations.

For more information, visit http://umdrightnow.umd.edu/news/life-saving-technology-advances-500k-fed-grant

April 29, 2013