NanoBio, University of Michigan receive $1.5 million to pursue infection treatment
The University of Michigan's Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences and Ann Arbor-based biotech firm NanoBio Corp. will jointly work to develop a new way to treat infections in the battlefield after receiving a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
In the three-year project, researchers will attempt to develop nanotechnology that can effectively fight bacteria, fungi and viruses in soldiers. If successful, the technology could be headed for clinical trials regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
NanoBio CEO and Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences director James Baker
File photo by Robert Ramey | AnnArbor.com's Business Review
"A broadly effective nanoemulsion-based wound treatment that can be safely and easily applied at the time of injury, without causing pain or interfering with wound healing, would have great value to prevent infection, increase survival and enable more rapid healing of wounded United States military personnel,” Baker said in a statement.
The award is the latest investment in U-M's nanotechnology expertise. The university announced earlier this month that it would build a $46 million nanotechnology research facility on North Campus.
NanoBio, meanwhile, is making clinical progress on several therapies. The firm is expanding its Ann Arbor laboratories after striking a multimillion-dollar licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline last year.
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