Estonian MedTech company Nanordica Medical has raised €1.75M to enter the market with first-in-class wound care products for severe wounds. The round was led by Estonian fund Specialist VC, with participation from Superangel and Amalfi. Previously, the company has closed a €2.4M EIC Accelerator funding round.
Nanordica is now on a quest to end one of the most acute issues in modern medicine. There are 100 million patients with chronic wounds like diabetic foot, venous leg, and pressure ulcers. This number is increasing by 12% yearly due to the ageing population and rising cases of diabetes and obesity. Every year, 1 million amputations are caused by these wounds globally, mostly due to poorly managed bacterial infections.
Nanordica Medical, a spin-off of the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics in Estonia, was founded in 2019 by scientists Olesja Bondarenko PhD, Anna-Liisa Kubo PhD, Dr. Grigory Vasiliev MD, PhD, and business co-founder Meelis Kadaja, PhD, MBA who joined in 2023. Aiming to address chronic wound healing, the company’s first product is an advanced antibacterial wound dressing utilising a nanotechnological solution that combines copper and silver nanoparticles to enhance antibacterial efficacy and improve wound healing.
Nanoparticles in action
Patients with infected wounds are typically treated with systemic antibiotics or traditional antibacterials such as silver ion-based dressings or ointments. The Nanordica Medical team discovered that by combining copper with silver nanoparticles, bacterial infections can be inactivated up to 8x better compared to traditional antibacterial solutions. Remarkably, the effect is achieved at very low concentrations, which is important because, in this case, the antibacterial does not harm the patient’s skin cells.
A randomised controlled trial of the developed wound dressing carried out on 30 patients with infected diabetic foot ulcers indicated better safety and faster healing than one of the most widely used competing silver ion-based wound dressings.
“We achieved a crucial milestone by demonstrating the safety and efficacy of our advanced wound dressing in patients with the most challenging wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, ” stated Nanordica Medical co-founder and CEO Olesja Bondarenko. Our next goal is to get the product to the market and into the hands of patients.”
Nanordica Medical’s team is preparing for a larger trial to test their wound dressing on 170 patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The multicentre study is set to begin in Q2, 2024 and is one of the largest of its kind. The results of this trial may lead to the integration of Nanordica Medical’s innovative concept into reimbursement and treatment guidelines.
“We were inspired by the extraordinary determination and resilience of Nanordica Medical’s founder team. The company’s innovative wound care solution has the potential to positively impact the lives of chronic wound patients across the world”, says Gerri Kodres, the Founder Partner of Specialist VC.
Nanordica Medical’s first product for veterinary use Ravimus Vet was launched in 2023, and the human product is planned to launch in 2025.
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