Nerites receives grant for tissue adhesive technology

Mar 22 2007

Nerites Corporation has received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The grant will fund research on Nerites' novel biodegradable, water-resistant tissue adhesives.

"This peer-reviewed award is another validation of the viability of our technology," said Thomas J. Mozer, Ph.D., CEO and President of Nerites Corporation. "The money will help us develop a series of new products with better adhesive properties than anything currently on the market."

Every surgical operation requires proper wound closure to ensure timely healing and protection from complications. While suturing and stapling are the most common closure methods, degradable tissue adhesives offer advantages in simplifying complex surgical procedures and eliminating the need for the removal of the wound closure device. Current surgical adhesives have not proven to be ideal and there remains a great need for improved surgical glues.

About Nerites: Nerites Corporation develops novel tissue repair products as well as advanced coatings for implanted medical devices and device uses on skin based on unique water-resistant adhesive compounds. These synthetic compounds -- based upon research by Dr. Phil Messersmith at Northwestern University's Department of Biomedical Engineering on how marine mussels bind to surfaces underwater -- are a breakthrough advance in biologically-compatible adhesives that provide completely new options for tissue repair, skin adhesives, and device coatings.

Nerites is based in Madison Wisconsin.