News Article

Announcing Keratin Biosciences -- Advancing Keratin-Based Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Drug Delivery Therapies:New Company Merges Microchips Biotech and KeraNetics
Date: Jul 06, 2018
Source: Company Data ( click here to go to the source)

Featured firm in this article: Keratin Biosciences of Winston-Salem, NC



Winston-Salem, NC, July 6, 2018 -- Microchips Biotech, Inc. of Lexington, MA and KeraNetics, LLC of Winston-Salem, NC have reached agreement to merge, creating a new company, Keratin Biosciences, Inc. The combined company will continue to operate in both locations.

Keratin Biosciences will advance both regenerative medicine and drug delivery therapies, based on a purified human-derived keratin technology platform. The company aims to bring transformative new products to market that promote regenerative healing of complex tissue injuries and skin wounds and conditions.

"We're excited to bring together two talented organizations committed to becoming leaders in regenerative medicine and drug delivery," says Dr. Cheryl Blanchard, who will lead Keratin Biosciences as president and chief executive officer. "Our goal is delivering important solutions to patients in need."

Blanchard, a pioneer in keratin science, says the merged company is "a synergistic combination of leadership with deep technical and commercial skills and confidence in the great promise of keratin as a clinically important biomaterial platform."

KeraNetics has a decade's experience in keratin-based research and development to address an array of unmet medical needs. Kim Westmoreland, formerly KeraNetics' CEO and now chief strategy officer of Keratin Biosciences, says the new partnership "presents an opportunity to accelerate delivery of new products to heal injuries sustained by our wounded war-fighters and civilian patients with skin injuries and conditions."

Keratin is a tough, natural constituent of skin and hair that serves an important natural barrier function. The new company will focus on harnessing keratin's unique qualities to produce first-in-class treatments for skin wounds and burns and on developing new regenerative therapies for muscle, nerve and bone. In addition, it will seek to exploit the advantages of keratin as a multi-modal drug delivery agent. Keratin Biosciences has 510(k) clearance to market KeraStat, a novel topical dressing for advanced wound care.

Keratin Biosciences will continue to pursue development of implantable drug delivery for contraception begun by Microchips Biotech, and will seek licensees of the technology for other applications.

Blanchard says Keratin Biosciences will benefit from its dual locations in Massachusetts and North Carolina. "Our aim is to expand our collaborations with academic and medical research communities in both Boston and North Carolina that we're so fortunate to have in our backyards," Blanchard says.

Contact:

Erin Warner | info@mchips.com | 781-778-7320