• BioSurfaces, Inc. Awarded Two-Year Phase II SBIR Contract from National Institutes of Health (June 1, 2009)
June 1, 2009 - BioSurfaces, Inc. was recently awarded a two year, Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Contract from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (Contract Number - HHSN268200900024C). This Phase II grant, with a total award amount of $738,779, is focused on developing a new artificial blood conduit for heart assist devices using our proprietary technology that would prevent infection and clotting within the conduit (BioSpun-VAD).
Heart failure affects over 4.7 million Americans, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Of these cases, approximately 50,000 to 100,000 patients are in late-stage heart failure with only 8% of these patients surviving two years without undergoing a heart transplant or implantation of a ventricular assist device (VAD). Although VADs have improved the quality of life for patients in late-stage heart failure, only 2,000 patients receive VADs each year due to the high morbidity and mortality associated with these devices. The annual healthcare cost for this major disorder is estimated at $10 to $40 billion. Significantly reducing these adverse complications would shift VAD use from “bridge to transplant” to “destination therapy”, increasing the potential market from the current $100 million annually to $2.5 billion.
The principal investigator in charge of this program is Mr. Matthew D. Phaneuf, President and CTO at BioSurfaces, Inc. For questions or inquiries, please contact Mr. Phaneuf at: biosurfaces@verizon.net.