ReNerve, RMIT win $360K grant for nerve regeneration research
What's the deal? ReNerveDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Australian biotech firm specialising in peripheral nerve injury repair, has secured a AUD498,856 (roughly $360,000) grant from the Commonwealth of AustraliaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through the Department of EducationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The funding backs a joint project with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to use a patient's own blood to speed nerve regeneration after prostate surgery.
Why now? The grant comes via Australia's Economic AcceleratorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Ignite Round 2, under the AEA Launch Program. The project, titled "Universal Platform for Tissue Regeneration and Healing: Addressing Nerve Injury," will split funds between RMIT and ReNerve according to the approved budget.
What's the endgame? The collaboration, led by associate professor Shadi Houshyar, aims to develop a gel integrated into a nerve cuff or wrap. That gel could also pair with ReNerve's nerve conduits and nerve guide matrix, part of its NervAlign platform for delivering cell therapies and enriched blood products.
Chief scientific officer David Rhodes said accelerating nerve regeneration could "significantly improve surgical outcomes and patient recovery."
By the numbers: ReNerve points to a sizeable market. About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, with incidence rising 3% annually between 2014 and 2021, and an estimated 313,780 new cases projected for 2025. Around 90,000 prostatectomies are performed each year in the United States.
What could go wrong? The project remains in research and development. ReNerve cautions there is no certainty the technology will meet its goals, secure regulatory approval, or reach commercialisation.
The signal: The grant sits on the smaller end of funding rounds, but for an early-stage biotech, non-dilutive government capital extends the runway to test a platform technology before it needs to prove itself in the market.
Read more: kalkinemedia.com
Image credit: NavyMedicine
