Projects

Neotherix

The Problem
Medical staff treating problem wounds (nonhealing/ poorly healing) are only able to gain limited information on wound status on which to base treatment decisions or to modify treatment regimes in a patient specific manner. Information that is available tends tobe descriptive (changes in wound area or volume) or to require remote analysis.

The Technology
“RegeniTherix” - a system for wound sampling and rapid analysis of biomarkers of wound status to enable more focused treatment of problem wounds. A wound scaffold-gel system will provide an architecture for tissue regeneration and also a point for sampling diffusible factors from cells involved in repair. Rapid Point-of-Care Testing will  allow clinicians access to information on the pattern and sequence of expression of biomarkers which may be indicative of the progression, trajectory and quality of healing of certain wound types. The project requires the development of novel hydrogel materials to interface with the scaffold and from which biomarkers will be sampled.

The Partners

  • Neotherix Limited
  • Complement Genomics Limited (CGL)
  • SensaPharm Limited
  • National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

The consortium combines regenerative tissue scaffold technology from Neotherix with genomic and proteomic analytical expertise from CGL and SensaPharm and expertise in rapid bio-diagnostic measurement from NPL.

 

The overall aim is to provide products to treat and monitor wounds so that clinicians are provided with information predictive of the course of repair without disruption of the healing process. The initial goal is to create a novel wound device incorporating both a biodegradable tissue scaffold and a switchable hydrogel layer to enable detailed and rapid evaluation of the wound followed in the latter stages of the project by new insights on the molecular basis of wound repair.


The consortium brings together expertise from very different technology sectors: molecular analysis of expressed genes and protein biomarkers (CGL and SensaPharm), regenerative medicine (Neotherix), microfluidics and development of biomarker measurement (NPL). Beyond these project partners, the team has also secured the clinical involvement of surgeons and wound care specialists at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough and the Tissue Engineering group at the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of Nottingham for hydrogel development expertise. The technology required for this project is a substantial step forward for the partners and, though complimentary, is in a field outside of their normal activity.