Nerites Corp. raises $5.7 million in funding round

Madison, Wis. - Nerites Corp., a Madison company that is developing new tissue repair products and coatings for medical devices, has completed a $5.7 million round of funding led by Venture Investors of Madison and Black Mountain Ventures of Foster City, Calif.

The company, which already has used $3 million from private investors to test various applications for its products, will use the new funding to refine product development plans and expand business development plans for bringing its first tissue adhesive products to market.

Thomas J. Mozer, president and CEO of Nerites, also said in a statement that the new funding will allow the company to accelerate development of applications for a handful of strategically chosen markets.

Based on what the company calls unique “wet” adhesive compounds, Nerites develops tissue repair products and advanced coatings for implanted medical devices.

The synthetic compounds are based on research into how marine mussels bind to surfaces under water. The research was conducted by Dr. Phil Messersmith at Northwestern University's Department of Biomedical Engineering. Company officials and investors view the technology as breakthrough advance. Investors believe Nerites' technology has the potential to address major unmet medical needs, and they are impressed with the company's progress in developing prototype products.

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