Tissue Technologies receives NIH grant

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park tenant, Tissue Technologies, was recently awarded a $100K Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health for the development of a bedside diagnostic strip which will lead the care giver to treat chronic wounds more effectively.

“Some of the treatments that are currently on the market for chronic wounds can be extremely expensive and unfortunately are often used on wounds that simply won’t benefit from them,” commented Kel Cohen, MD, president and CEO of Tissue Technologies. “Our diagnostic strip will help medical professionals evaluate the best treatment options for their patient’s wonds.”

According to Cohen, the diagnostic strip can test the level of proteases in the wound. These are the enzymes found at high concentrations in chronic wounds. While these enzymes play an important role in tissue synthesis and degradation in normal wounds, chronic wounds produce too much proteases, resulting in substantial healing problems. Specifically, high protease levels in chronic wound fluid delays the wound healing process by degrading newly formed tissue and growth factors.

By using these “litmus” type testing strips, the doctor or nurse can determine protease levels to better evaluate what treatments will be most effective. It can also be used to monitor protease levels during and after treatment to ensure healing is occurring as expected.

“We are very excited about the results of our preliminary studies and the potential applications of this product,” commented Cohen.

In addition to the diagnostic strip, Tissue Technologies recently announced the FDA approval of a new product for dressing chronic wounds, which could potentially promote healing by eliminating the elevated levels of protease in chronic wound fluid.