Nerites raises $1 million to improve medical tech

Madison, Wis. - Nerites Corp., a Madison biotechnology company, has raised $1 million from angel investors in a recent round of funding, bringing the total raised to $3 million in the past two years.

Nerites is moving toward human clinical trials to verify the efficacy of two products: adhesives that bind tissues together in aqueous environments, including body fluids such as blood, and medical device coatings that block bacterial adhesion to the device surface for prolonged periods of time.

It is currently conducting animal tests in which the tissue adhesives will be used to close surgical incisions, and the effectiveness of the device coatings will be evaluated in reducing the likelihood of bacterial infections at the site of medical implants.

In addition to the testing, CEO and President Thomas J. Mozer said the funding has enabled Nerites to build corporate relationships, develop scientific partnerships, and begin working with clinicians that use its products. To co-develop its adhesive and coating technologies, the company has entered into an agreement with Minneapolis-based Midwest Orthopaedic Research Foundation (MORF).

Nerites' "wet" adhesive compounds are based on research by Dr. Phil Messersmith at Northwestern University's Department of Biomedical Engineering. The research centered on how marine mussels bind to surfaces underwater, and it helped produced biologically compatible adhesives. Related story

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