A Virginia Commonwealth University startup with an innovation that could enhance brain and spinal surgeries received a $800,000 state grant to support the development of its infection-fighting gel. Pascal Medical is one of four grant recipients to receive awards from Virginia Catalyst, a nonprofit created by the General Assembly and funded via the state’s general fund and seven public research universities, including VCU. Catalyst CEO Mike Grisham said the nonprofit’s goal is to provide funding that helps industry partners and academic investigators raise follow-on investments.
Pascal was co-founded by Barbara Boyan, Ph.D., the Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Engineering. And she served as dean of the college from 2013 to 2022. The company’s antibiotic-releasing “hydrogel’” can safely seal and heal surgical wounds created during brain and spinal procedures.
Pascal’s main innovation is a biocompatible material based on “click chemistry” — a concept that won the 2022 Nobel Prize — to create a fast-setting, highly adaptable gel. And this is especially useful in brain and spinal surgery when a neurosurgeon either intentionally or accidentally cuts through the dura, a layer of tissue that protects the brain and spinal cord.
Pascal’s ClickGel hydrogel is injected into the body, and the molecules within it snap together to form a strong and stable gel during surgery. The sealant sticks to tissues and can deliver antibiotics.
Boyan is 1 of 9 VCU faculty researchers honored as a National Academy of Inventors fellow, a program considered the highest professional distinction for academic inventors. And Boyan is also executive director of VCU’s Institute for Engineering and Medicine, which drives collaboration among the College of Engineering, VCU Life Sciences and the School of Medicine.
Boyan and the Pascal team are also working with George Mason University microbiology professor Monique van Hoek, Ph.D., and they cite ClickGel’s potential to treat the culprit in many infections: MRSA, the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterium. And Michael Mancini, Ph.D., a former staffer with TechTransfer and Ventures, joined Pascal as director of research and development in January 2024.
With this new funding from Virginia Catalyst, Pascal can complete crucial studies for submitting ClickGel to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of human clinical trials.
The development of the ClickGel technology was supported via funding from the FDA, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense, as well as funding from VCU. And Pascal is housed in the VA Bio+Tech Park in Richmond.
Virginia Catalyst said its grants have totaled over $36 million, resulting in over $54 million in matching funds and over $700 million in follow-on funding.
KEY QUOTES:
“Normal surgical sealants have limitations. What we’ve created is a material that conforms to the surgical site, doesn’t interfere with healing and can also deliver antibiotics to prevent infection. We have an opportunity to change the way surgeries are done. That’s what makes this work so exciting.”
“This is particularly important in neurosurgery, where infections are difficult to eradicate and antibiotic delivery via hydrogels needs to not only provide sufficient levels of antibiotics, but also to not impact the function of the neural tissues.”
“The Catalyst grant program is a game-changer for Pascal and provides validation of the commercialization plan for a young company developing a novel technology. This also tells investors their matching funds are supporting research and commercialization approaches that are sound.”
– Barbara Boyan
“Barbara is a serial entrepreneur and one of VCU’s most inventive minds, and has spent her career trying to improve quality of life or prevent pain in patients, especially those facing orthopedic injury or surgeries.”
“Pascal has the right team, technology and a plan in place to bring their ClickGel and more neuromusculoskeletal products to market as quickly as possible.”
– Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., assistant vice president for innovation at VCU TechTransfer and Ventures, which helps commercialize VCU innovations and has helped the Pascal team protect their intellectual property and connected them to business advisors
“This type of translational research exemplifies VCU College of Engineering’s commitment to our Human Health & Medicine research pillar. When our faculty develop innovations in the lab that can directly improve patient outcomes and bring them to market through startups like Pascal, they’re fulfilling our ‘Engineering for Humanity’ mission. The Institute for Engineering and Medicine was created precisely to foster these collaborations between engineering and medicine that address real clinical challenges.”
– Rebecca Heise, Ph.D., the Inez A. Caudill Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chair at the Department of Biomedical Engineering
“Being able to prevent MRSA infections with ClickGel will greatly benefit surgical patients.”
– Monique van Hoek, who runs GMU’s Center for Infectious Disease Research, which specializes in developing and testing novel treatment approaches for difficult. The center will test the antibiotic ClickGel against many different strains of relevant bacteria.
