Virginia Catalyst Awards $2.4 Million to Advance Surgical Hydrogel, Trauma Resuscitation Drug, and AI-Enabled Fracture Healing Device Toward Human Trials
核心洞察
Virginia Catalyst (搜索) awarded $2.4 million in non-dilutive grants to three Virginia-based startups commercializing university research, marking the organization's 19th funding round since December 2013.
Pascal Medical received $800,000 to fund a large-animal study and manufacturing scale-up for ClickGel (搜索), an injectable surgical hydrogel, toward an FDA premarket approval submission.
Perfusion Medical (搜索) received $800,000 to demonstrate the blood-sparing potential of PM-208 (搜索), a first-in-class intravenous resuscitation therapy for shock (搜索) and ischemia (搜索).
Governor Abigail Spanberger announced a $2.4 million investment in Virginia's life sciences ecosystem through Virginia Catalyst (搜索)'s highly competitive grant program, funding three start-up companies at the forefront of biomedical innovation. The non-dilutive grants — funding that does not require the company to surrender equity — support collaborative life science and bioscience efforts focused on commercializing innovations from Virginia universities.
"Virginia is setting the standard for bioscience innovation in the United States with our committed investment, partnership, and focus on advancements in both the public and private sectors," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "The awardees selected for Virginia Catalyst (搜索)'s highly competitive new round of funding exemplify the Commonwealth's unwavering commitment to supporting groundbreaking ideas encouraging visionary solutions to continue flourishing here in Virginia."
With this latest round of funding — the organization's 19th since December 2013 — Virginia Catalyst (搜索) has awarded 75 grants totaling $40 million, resulting in nearly $60 million in matching funds and more than $700 million in follow-on funding. These investments have resulted in the creation of 450 jobs in Virginia's life sciences. To be eligible for a grant, projects must demonstrate substantive collaboration between at least two of the universities that make up the research consortium: the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and Old Dominion University.
Pascal Medical's ClickGel Surgical Hydrogel
Pascal Medical Corporation (搜索), connected to VCU and UVA, received $800,000 for its project "FDA PMA Submission Package for ClickGel (搜索) to Enable a Human Investigational Device Exemption Study." ClickGel is an injectable biomaterial that forms a stable matrix inside the body, sealing surgical wounds and delivering therapeutics precisely where they are placed. Because it is regulated as a premarket approval product, it faces an especially demanding review before it can enter humans.
"Securing this grant from Virginia Catalyst (搜索) is a pivotal validation of our work. It signals to investors that we have moved beyond theoretical research and are effectively derisking our technology for clinical application," said Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., co-founder and chief scientific officer of Pascal, who is also executive director of VCU's Institute for Engineering and Medicine.
The Virginia Catalyst (搜索) award will fund a large-animal study assessing ClickGel (搜索)'s safety and effectiveness, plus manufacturing the gel and its applicator exactly as they would be produced for people — a prerequisite for the Food and Drug Administration submission that would authorize a human trial. Pascal is working with Justin S. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon and chief of the spine division at UVA. The latest award marks Pascal's third Virginia Catalyst grant, following a $375,000 award in 2022 and an $800,000 award in 2024. On its own, the most recent award has helped Pascal raise an additional $3 million.
"This funding is a major milestone for Pascal," said Tom Gardner, Pascal's CEO. "It allows us to move ClickGel (搜索) into critical surgical testing and accelerate our timeline toward FDA submission, bringing a new standard of care much closer to patients."
Perfusion Medical's PM-208 Resuscitation Therapy
Perfusion Medical (搜索), also connected to VCU and UVA, received $800,000 for its project "Demonstrating Blood Conservation with PM-208 (搜索)." PM-208, invented by VCU School of Medicine professor Martin J. Mangino, Ph.D., is a first-in-class intravenous therapy for shock (搜索) and ischemia (搜索). It aims to reduce how much donated blood a trauma patient requires, and it has already received substantial federal funding.
"Perfusion Medical (搜索) is grateful for Virginia Catalyst (搜索)'s support as we advance PM-208 (搜索), a first-in-class IV resuscitation therapy for shock (搜索) and ischemia (搜索)," said Gerard Eldering, CEO of Perfusion Medical. "Invented by Martin J. Mangino, Ph.D., and his team at Virginia Commonwealth University, this collaborative project includes Andrew E. Muck, M.D., and his team at the University of Virginia and complements the significant U.S. military support of PM-208's development to date."
Where blood is critical or scarce, such as on the battlefield or in rural areas, the innovation could have an enormous impact. "I heard about a physician manning a small hospital in a rural area over the Fourth of July weekend," Eldering said. "He said, 'I've got two units of O-positive blood. If we get a major car accident, I'm in trouble.'" A drug that stretches a limited blood supply could change that assessment — if PM-208 (搜索) can stabilize a patient on fewer transfused units, those units go further, and a remote hospital has a better chance of sustaining the patient until transport to the nearest trauma center.
The Virginia Catalyst (搜索) grant will fund animal studies at UVA quantifying the drug's blood-sparing effect, conducted alongside Andrew E. Muck, M.D., an emergency physician and former Air Force doctor. Perfusion filed its investigational new drug application in June and expects to open it this fall.
Sonogen Medical's AI-Enabled Fracture Healing Device
Sonogen Medical (搜索), connected to UVA, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion University, received $800,000 for its project "First in-human testing of an AI/ML-enabled therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasonic bone fracture healing device."
"Sonogen Medical (搜索) is extremely excited to be a recipient of a Virginia Catalyst (搜索) award to support our mission to transform fracture care," said Jason Winder, CEO of Sonogen Medical, Inc. "Working in partnership with Dr. David Weiss at the University of Virginia, Dr. Hoda Eldadiry at Virginia Tech, and Dr. Michel Audette at Old Dominion University, we will conduct a first-in-human study of a novel ultrasound platform designed to both accelerate bone fracture healing and provide real-time healing assessment. This collaboration brings together Virginia's strengths in clinical medicine, artificial intelligence, and biomedical engineering to address a significant unmet need affecting millions of fracture patients each year."
Academic Commercialization and Economic Impact
Both Pascal and Perfusion have advanced with commercialization support from VCU TechTransfer and Ventures, part of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. "At VCU, research isn't meant to stay on the bench; it's meant to transform human lives," said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation. "Securing Virginia Catalyst (搜索) awards is a major milestone for our startups because it provides the rigorous, nondilutive capital needed to complete advanced preclinical studies and reach the clinic."
"World class research, entrepreneurial management, and capital are the foundations for Virginia's continued success in medical breakthroughs and creating high paying jobs for Virginians," said Mike Grisham, CEO of Virginia Catalyst (搜索). "The Virginia Catalyst mission is to help establish these collaborations to drive economic development and strengthen Virginia's competitive position in the life sciences."