Nobio was recently awarded a $205,000 grant from the Israel Innovation Authority to rapidly develop personal protection and surface coatings with long acting, universal protection to prevent the transmission of pathogens, such as COVID-19. This approval comes following Nobio’s winning of the EU Horizon 2020 SME phase 1 grant last September.
In March 2020, Nobio signed an agreement with Supergum to rapidly prototype and test an antiviral protection mask, combining Nobio’s revolutionary antiviral and Supergum’s antimicrobial CBNR (Chemical, Biological, Nuclear Radiation) breathing protection products. Supergum is the leading supplier of CBRN solutions to the Israeli Government, hospitals and the Israel Defense Forces.
“The ongoing coronavirus crisis requires industry to take aggressive measures to help public health authorities defeat this pandemic and make these critical initiatives a priority,” said in a joint statement, Ilan Gescheit, Supergum CEO and Yoram Ashery, Nobio CEO. “Face masks with active antiviral protection are urgently needed and to our knowledge are not yet available on the market.”
Late in 2019, Nobio received FDA clearance for its first line of products in the dental field, which has already reached initial sales and produced royalties for Hadassah. With the COVID-19 outbreak, Nobio has shifted focus using their technology for new products that provide solutions to the pandemic. Nobio harnessed its technology and R&D to fight COVID-19 in two directions: PPE – developing antiviral non-woven fabrics for surgical masks and other type of protective wear used by frontline personnel; and, long-lasting antiviral surface coatings.
“It’s a pleasure to watch Nobio grow from a small start-up, that licensed the technology from us only 5 years ago, to a well-recognized and appreciated company, that brought such important and groundbreaking medical products all the way to the market in such short time”, says Dr. Tamar Raz, head of Hadasit, the commercialization arm of Hadassah Medical Organization.
Nobio antibacterial nanoparticle technology is on the cutting edge of antibacterial research. It transforms many common materials into antibacterial, materials used to manufacture medical and dental devices, consumer, household products and more. Infectious diseases are the third deadliest disease group globally and infections associated with medical care are among the top ten causes of deaths in America. In three decades, deaths from drug-resistant bacteria might exceed all cancers combined. Current approaches to prevent persistent bacterial colonization (or “biofilm”) are short-term, toxic, can induce bacterial-resistance, and can be ineffective or inapplicable in many settings. Nobio’s technology is changing this reality.
“Nobio was founded on the basis of decade-long research at the Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,” says Nobio CEO Yoram Ashery. “This nanoparticle technology is fascinating because it transforms ordinary materials enabling them to kill bacteria indefinitely.”
About Nobio
Nobio is a material sciences company that was founded in 2015, based on IP developed at Hadassah Medical Center of Jerusalem and the Hebrew University, by Prof Ervin Weiss, Prof Avi Domb and Dr Michelle Peretz-Davidi. Nobio develops antimicrobial products and solutions based on its novel nanoparticle technology. The first products with this technology received FDA clearance for common dental treatments and are commercially available. Nobio is working with global industry leaders in other areas, transforming their products into antibacterial, indefinitely. Nobio has raised $9.205 million to date, with an A round investment of $ 5.8 million August 2018
Contact: Hanna Elbaz +972-9-789-3000 hanna at nobio.com
Source: July Hadassit Newsletter
