Haemostatix Ltd, has been awarded a £409,000 Translation Award from the UK research charity the Wellcome Trust, to support development of its haemostat technology. The funding coincides with an additional £459,000 investment from Spark Ventures, Catapult Venture Managers, NESTA, the Lachesis Fund and Leicester University, as well as new investor, Mobius Life Sciences Fund.
Haemostats are used by surgeons to manage bleeding and to reduce time in the operating theatre during surgery. The products are applied in the form of sprays, gels or pads, and typically contain the enzyme thrombin, which promotes blood clotting, as the active ingredient.
Haemostatix has developed a new class of active ingredient based on a peptide that binds to another blood clotting protein, fibrinogen, instantly forming a clot.
Ben Nichols, CEO of Haemostatix said there is a real need for rapid-acting, ready-to-use haemostats that are safe and cost-effective, and we believe our technology can deliver these benefits to surgeons and their patients. “We have received a lot of interest from pharmaceutical companies, and this award and the investment, will enable us to generate more data to support the commercialisation process.”
Richard Seabrook, Head of Business Development at the Wellcome Trust, said, “If successful, a new haemostat that bypasses the need for thrombin has the potential to make a huge impact on healthcare and the Wellcome Trust is pleased to support this project.”
Haemostatix is based at BioCity Nottingham and was originally a spin-out from Leicester University.
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