£20,000 prize from Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technology Competition

A University of Leicester spin-out company has won a prestigious £20,000 award for a new technology it is developing to control bleeding in surgery and trauma. The Nottingham-based company, Haemostatix Ltd, claimed top spot in the healthcare sector at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technology Competition with its new peptide dendrimer technology.

This new generation compound is based on a purely synthetic peptide construct that binds to the blood protein fibrinogen, forming a fibrin-like clot. It is being developed for less accessible bleeds and penetrating trauma wounds and has many advantages over the current standard of care, thrombin, a large, relatively fragile protein. The company’s lead compound PeproStat™ is currently in clinical trials in liver surgery at four UK hospitals.

The Emerging Technologies Competition is an annual innovation event organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Now in its third year, the Competition accelerates the commercialisation of the most impactful ideas in healthcare, energy and sustainability, and materials. The competition is Europe-wide with a £20,000 first prize and is backed by companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Croda, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GE Healthcare, Schlumberger and Lubrizol.

Ben Nicholls, CEO of Haemostatix Ltd said:  “This competition is highly competitive and prestigious so we are delighted to have been awarded first prize. To have the healthcare industry recognise the potential of this new technology is extremely positive and we hope that our compounds will go on to benefit patients in hospitals all over the world.”

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