Regenerative medicine company KeraNetics, whose biomaterials research into healing damaged tissue is already in the U.S. military’s sights, is now raising a targeted $7 million in equity financing.
The Winston-Salem, North Carolina company has raised $4.7 million from 26 investors so far in a securities sale that began on Dec. 30, according to securities filings. The offering is a mix of equity, options and warrants. KeraNetics managing director Kim Westmoreland did not return a call seeking comment.
KeraNetics is based on technology developed at Wake Forest University‘s Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The company works with keratins, a class of fibrous structural proteins that make up the hair, the outer layer of the skin and fingernails. KeraNetics says that keratins can be engineered into coatings, fibers, foams, films and gels, and the company has several patents for methods of purifying keratin proteins for applications in regenerative medicine and trauma. Because these proteins are derived from the human body, they are naturally reabsorbed by the body and offer biocompatibility advantages compared to other biomaterials.
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KeraNetics is pursuing products in burn management, hemostasis, bone and nerve regeneration, fluids for resuscitation and reestablishing blood flow after hemorrhage or other trauma. According to the 2011 annual report from the Wake Forest Office of Technology Asset Management, KeraNetics to date has raised $8 million in equity financing and more than $4 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and the state of North Carolina, among others.
KeraNetics has made investigational device exemption and investigational new drug application filings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company’s first product might be for a military application. KeraNetics last fall was awarded two phase 1 small business innovation research grants; a Department of Defense grant to develop muscle regenerating keratin biomaterials; and a U.S. Army grant to develop keratin biomaterials that enhance wound healing and also have antimicrobial properties.
Image from KeraNetics
