Focused on potentially repairing with peripheral nerve grafts what are currently untreatable nerve, spinal cord and brain injuries as well as reversing the devastating consequences of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons disease, Axonova Medical - currently resident in JPod Philadelphia and a spin-off from University of Pennsylvania - is working on development of a disruptive technology that is designed effectively recreate lost or damaged neural circuitry following neurological injury or disease. Nervous system demage requires the restoration of connectivity. Simply replacing nerve cells simply is insufficient unless they are connected to one another or to target tissues (e.g., muscle) by specialized fibers: designated axons. Related work in the space to date has so far failed to grow axons over long, clinically relevant distances as well as to guide their growth to the appropriate target tissue. Axonova is addressing both those previous failures. If successful the firm's could tackle surgical reconstruction of major peripheral nerve injury (PNI) following trauma or tumor resection and, potentially, be employed in addressing Parkinsons disease.
