Gecko Biomedical Builds Out Strategy For ‘Print On' Polymers Platform

   Gecko Biomedical (“Gecko”), a privately-owned life science company developing innovative polymers to support tissue reconstruction, announced today it has put a strategy in place for the development and rollout of its platform of proprietary tissue reconstruction technologies. It has also begun implementing an approach for industry collaboration on future applications of its technology.

  Gecko’s proprietary technology platform is composed of fully synthetic light-activated polymers that can be ‘printed’ on living tissue inside and outside the body. These materials have unique chemical and physical properties, including high viscosity, hydrophobicity and on-demand curing allowing them to be delivered using minimally invasive procedures into challenging environments. Once ‘printed’, Gecko’s polymers are biodegradable, biocompatible and elastic, complying with the dynamics of the tissues on which they have been ‘printed’.

   The company received CE Mark approval for its first product, the SETALUM™ Sealant, in June 2017, paving the way for further development of its proprietary polymers and how they can be used, as well as the therapeutic areas in which they may be applied. The SETALUM™ Sealant is designed to be applied to tissue in-situ and activated using a proprietary light activation pen in wet environments as an add-on to sutures during vascular surgery.

   Gecko has used its proprietary polymer technology to develop the SETALUM™ Sealant as a first product but has made significant progress in identifying additional applications related to tissue reconstruction. Gecko has already developed other functionalities for the technology, such as using it as an adhesive, a barrier, a filler, and as a frame or scaffold by combining it with 3D printing technology.

    The unique ability of Gecko’s polymer technology to be leveraged in many different ways is due to the polymer’s versatile design: each use case leverages the right formulation, distinct delivery device and specific activation technology. This modular platform design will support the extension of the technology for applications with different tissue types. Validation of the technology will occur first for cardiovascular, bone, nerve, ophthalmological and urological applications.

  Gecko Biomedical plans to rapidly expand its portfolio of products using a standardized process to bring ideas to life in development. This process, which it calls its Innovation Hub, starts with the modular design of the technology platform, which allows Gecko to develop multiple products simultaneously. The business model allows the company to swiftly transition from ideation, to proof of concept, to full device specifications in order to begin first in man trials in less than two years from the start of the process. This model will not only support product development that takes place internally but will also support potential product development that may occur as the result of a strategic partnership.

   Christophe Bancel, CEO of Gecko Biomedical, said: “The design of our technology platform is reflective of the vision we have had for our technology since the inception of Gecko Biomedical: our focus is tissue reconstruction and our primary tool is our proprietary polymers. Given the recent regulatory validation that we have received in the form of the CE Mark, we can begin to expand our portfolio with greater speed using the innovative product development model that we have developed, feeding our ecosystem and ultimately providing a better quality of life for patients worldwide.”