Round will fuel growth, cementing Imbed’s position as a leader in advanced wound care
Niterra is participating in $10M convertible debt financing for Imbed Biosciences, Inc. (Imbed), a tissue engineering company developing advanced biomaterials for soft-tissue repair. Niterra’s investment was made through the CVC fund jointly operated with Pegasus Tech Ventures and this round included strong participation from existing investors.
Imbed has developed a fully-synthetic and antimicrobial wound matrix made of biocompatible polymers, which ha been FDA cleared for several use indications, including management of burns, skin grafts, chronic and surgical wounds. The antimicrobial matrix provides a healing environment conducive to tissue growth and suppresses the growth of microbes and biofilms. Published prospective human clinical trials have shown that inclusion of the matrix in the protocols of care helped jump start healing of stagnant or deteriorating chronic wounds that were suspected of persistent microbial colonization, leading to a faster recovery with less chance of infection, improving patient outcomes.
“People with slow-healing wounds are at high risk of infection, leading to secondary medical complications, including sepsis or amputation,” said Ankit Agarwal, PhD, co-founder and chief scientific and quality officer for Imbed Biosciences. “We have developed the first fully-synthetic and antimicrobial wound matrix based on our patented Microlyte® technology that has been shown to drastically reduce healing time of such deteriorating wounds. It is now stocked on the formulary of several large hospital systems across the U.S. More than a hundred thousand units of Microlyte® Matrix were used in complex wounds over the last twelve months, reassuring it as the emerging preferred choice of physicians. This investment allows us to accelerate our commercial growth while also advancing our solutions to help more people.”
The global advanced wound care market is projected to reach $18.7 billion by 2027 and chronic wounds impact 5.7M people in the United States. With this latest round of financing, Imbed will further establish its position as the leading developer of advanced devices for the management of burns, wounds and soft-tissue repair. The funds will be used to scale commercial operations, advance innovation, and increase sales channels.
“Niterra is focused on investing in solutions that improve the quality of life for everybody,” said Dirk Schapeler, president of Niterra Ventures Company. “Wound care has traditionally been expensive with a high risk of complications and has been ripe for innovation. We believe that Imbed Biosciences is redefining wound care and are excited to partner with Dr. Agarwal and his team to further improve patient quality of life.”
In the “2030 Long-Term Management Plan NITTOKU BX,” Niterra has set out the transformation of their business portfolio to increase the ratio of the businesses not related to the internal combustion engine, and as one of the measures to realize it, Niterra is promoting the creation of new businesses in the areas of Health, Energy & Environment, and Mobility. As a part of their effort in Healthcare, Niterra is investing in technology detecting and assessing cardiology, oncology, neurology and hypertension conditions.