By Sharon Ballard
Little Rock, AR – NuShores Biosciences LLC (NuShores), founded and based in Little Rock, Arkansas, announced today that it has received $1.5M funding notice from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their Years 2 and 3 Phase II studies as part of their rare Fast Track SBIR award last year. The trigger for the continued funding was the research results in their Phase I SBIR studies that proved the feasibility of its NuCress™ bone filler scaffolds in craniofacial tissues. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), a component of the NIH, provided the continued funding. NuShores partnered in these studies with Stony Brook University (SBU) School of Dental Medicine; across-disciplinary team of experts in oral and maxillofacial surgery and periodontology, in preclinical models and clinical trials. Sharon Ballard, NuShores’ CEO, responded “The Phase I SBIR results from our research collaborators indicate that our NuCressTM scaffold represents a robust technology that provides advanced bone formation with positive outcomes for complex craniomaxillofacial medical conditions.”
NuShores’ research addresses the limitations of current bone grafting techniques for dental implants: difficulties with fixation and stabilization, insufficient bone regeneration, high morbidity using autogenous block grafts, prolonged healing of up to 9 months, and high costs. Although pre-implant reconstructive surgeries are commonly performed, an estimated 7% of patients are unable to receive dental implants due to these limitations. NuShores will be investigating the advantages of NuCressTM
bone filler scaffold technology as a revolutionary advancement in bone healing and a transformational technology for dentists, periodontists and oral surgeons for tooth salvage treatments at a fraction of the cost and healing times required for today’s technologies. Such preclinical studies are essential before approval for use in humans. “The NuCress™ scaffolds result in significantly earlier bone formation, and there is significantly more graft being incorporated into bone with NuCress™ scaffold compared to the predicate (a current market leader in the field). The NuCress™ scaffold could be easily customized to fill required defect dimensions and did not require additional measures to secure in the defect site. Soft tissue closure over the defect site was easy since the NuCress™ scaffold was found to remain in the complex defect location and not migrate.” says David K. Lam, MD, DDS, PhD, FRCDC, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Stony Brook University’s College of Dental Medicine.
About NuShores Biosciences LLC
NuShores’ vision is to improve the quality of life for people globally and to compete successfully in the bone-substitute materials industry. Early studies suggest that NuShores’ licensed, patented technology could deliver improved solutions for bone regeneration while cutting healthcare costs, lowering treatment risks and reducing healing times. NuShores’ NuCress™ scaffold offers a number of benefits to date not achieved by currently marketed bone regeneration products, therefore promising to bring better treatment outcomes to millions of people with severe bone injuries. NuShores has the exclusive, global license from University of Arkansas Little Rock to commercialize university owned patented and patent-pending technologies.
Drs. Alexandru Biris and David Anderson along with two other Little Rock investors founded NuShores in 2014.
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About Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine Stony Brook University’s (SBU) cross-disciplinary team of experts in oral and maxillofacial surgery and periodontology, in preclinical models and clinical trials, will evaluate NuCress™ scaffolds in craniofacial tissues. SBU School of Dental Medicine is among the elite NIH/NIDCR-funded research-intensive
dental schools in the nation. They are an integrated part of a broader research community at SBU with extensive research collaborations with the School of Medicine, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Program in Public Health.
David K. Lam, MD, DDS, PhD, FRCDC, Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, will serve as SBU’s Project Director for the NuShores SBIR Fast Track effort. Dr. Lam is a surgeon-scientist with extensive experience in preclinical animal model testing and novel model development, clinical trials, and surgical innovations. Dr. Srinivas Myneni, BDS, MS, PhD, Director of Periodontal Research in the Department of Periodontology, will serve as Co-Investigator. Dr. Myneni is an expert in periodontology and implant dentistry, with extensive experience in pre-clinical and clinical research in tissue regeneration, management of extraction sockets, implant placement, ridge preservation, and periodontal and bone regeneration.
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About the SBIR Program
The SBIR Program (Small Business Innovation Research) involves eleven (11) federal agencies investing over $3 billion a year in high risk / high payoff research and development conducted by the nation’s leading science-technology innovators such as NuShores Biosciences LLC. NuShores’ award is known as a Fast Track Grant where funding occurs when SBIR Phase I and Phase II proposals are peer reviewed at the same time, and then granted in a single award. This approach expedites funding
and research for the companies. Research described in this press release is supported by the National Center for Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1R44DE028213-01.
Contact
To learn more about this announcement, please contact
Sharon C. Ballard, CEO
NuShores Biosciences LLC
sharon@nushores.com
