Fresh hope for chronic wounds [Video]

Newswise — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two new wound management products that include patented hydrogels invented by University of Delaware material scientist Darrin Pochan and Joel Schneider, a former UD faculty member now at the National Cancer Institute. The unique hydrogel materials are made of peptides — the building blocks of proteins — that self-assemble to form a 3D matrix and are compatible with living cells. The consistency of jelly, the unique materials are useful for a variety of applications.

Gel4Med, a Harvard University-based biomaterials engineering company, licensed four patents related to the technology via UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP) in 2018. The company incorporated the UD-developed hydrogels into two products, G4Derm and G4Derm Plus, that have been intentionally designed to speed healing by combatting bacterial and fungal infection while simultaneously promoting tissue regrowth.

Gel4Med is currently piloting the products in health care settings in the United States.

A new approach for wound care

According to Gel4Med CEO Manav Mehta, the …