Surgery is seldom over after the last stitch. It takes a while to heal and having the right equipment makes for a better recovery. In this case we helped characterizing what will be an internal band-aid.

The Problem
Ever since the first surgical incision, adhesion formation remains one of the most common side effects and unsolved problems following surgery. Adhesions form internal scars that can cause bowels and pelvic organs to attach to each other.  This can be very painful, lead to several pathologies and in the most extreme case also to death. More than 30% of female infertility is caused by precedent surgery and subsequent adhesions between ovaries and other surfaces in the abdomen!

The Solution
The problem was highlighted by surgeons Stig Bengmark and Roland Andersson, who together with Physical Chemistry professors Björn Lindman and Kåre Larsson, invented the BioBarrier now developed by Bioactive Polymers. This biosurgery company develops a unique spray, BioBarrier, to prevent post-surgical adhesions in e.g. abdominal and pelvic surgery.  This proprietary spray that utilizes two streams of differently charged liquid polypeptides is applied on the target tissue at the time of surgery and forms a white, biocompatible and degradable barrier.

The technology has been examined in more than ten pre-clinical trials since 2004 exceeding 1,000 animals. These experimental studies have confirmed the efficacy of the BioBarrier as an adhesive agent hindering creation of adhesions. This successful research work at Lund University Hospital is headed by Dr Bobby Tingstedt.

Our contribution
Fundamental is the understanding of the chemistry and for the commercial next step: the characterization of the polypeptides used in the formulation. The concept is truly colloidal, thus it is in our ballpark. The team is a mix between chemists and surgeons, a start-up where science is mixed with business and thus it is our kind of work environment.

We have worked on the formulation, the analytical method development, the processing of the two polypeptides and the method transfers to appropriate GLP and GMP labs after performing all technical studies in our own lab.

With Bioactive Polymers we are currently working on the characterization of the polypeptides used in the formulation using NMR and assisting in the build up of new IPR.