https://www.sdbj.com/life-sciences/medical-devices/sylke-nets-5-5m-in-physician-led-fundraise/
LA JOLLA – Sylke Inc., a biotech company that has patented a non-immunogenic surgical bandage designed to reduce post-operation infections and complications, reported $5.5 million in new funding in a filing this month with the SEC.
Sylke’s fundraise came from 66 investors, the majority of whom are physicians and surgeons from medical systems and academic programs across the country, including the Mayo Clinic, UCLA and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, according to founder Dr. M. Mark Mofid.
Mofid said the recipients of the security sales were deliberate.
“I didn’t want faceless, nameless biotech investors or VC companies to profit off of this, I really wanted surgeons to be the emissaries for this because they’re ultimately the ones that apply this technology in the operating room and understand the outcomes,” he said.
Improved Surgical Dressing
Sylke’s eponymous adhesive surgical dressing is made of woven 99.99-percent sericin-free silk fibroin mesh, which is designed to be breathable, flexible over irregular surfaces and water resistant for two-plus weeks while offloading tension along the surgical site.
An estimated one in seven patients in the United States – roughly 1.5 million people – suffer from medical adhesive-related skin injuries after surgical procedures, which are often caused by synthetic dressing materials and the use of the adhesive cyanoacrylate, which is commonly known as Super Glue and degrades to formaldehyde.
Those injuries, which can include skin tearing, blisters and contact dermatitis and lead to surgical site infections and poor scarring, are estimated to cost the American health care system roughly $3.3 billion per year and can extend hospital stays by more than a week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘Blistering’ Growth
Mofid, a private practice plastic surgeon and an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, characterized Sylke’s sales growth since its launch last December as “blistering,” with an average month-over-month growth rate of 30%.
Mofid said he hopes to cross the threshold of $1 million in monthly sales by the end of 2024.
The company has some 70 sales representatives based around the country, as well as around 10 core full-time employees that handle operations, legal matters and research and development. Mofid expects the company to continue scaling up its staff as sales improve.
Sylke is currently used in more than 70 hospital systems across the country, including the Mayo Clinic and the Johns Hopkins University healthcare system.
Mofid added that Emory University, UCLA and the Cleveland Clinic are some of the health medical care systems that are currently conducting clinical use trials of Sylke wound dressings, with the expectation that their systems convert in the near future.
“It’s sort of a who’s who of academic medicine, the most prestigious healthcare systems in the United States right now are transitioning,” Mofid said.
According to Mofid, the U.S. wound dressing market alone is valued at upwards of $7 billion. However, the company also intends to expand into international markets, where its patents on Sylke are pending.
Well-Studied Product
In a study published last year in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum, just 4% of participants using a Sylke prototype wound dressing experienced skin discomfort, while none of the participants dealt with contact dermatitis or the need for topical steroids or antibiotics.
The prototype was tested against Dermabond Prineo, a common surgical bandage developed by Johnson & Johnson that utilizes cyanoacrylate. More than 60% of patients reported developing skin discomfort from Dermabond Prineo, while 52% developed skin rashes or needed medication to treat contact dermatitis or surgical site infections.
The study included patients who had received tummy tuck, body lift, breast reduction and breast lift procedures.
“This is a product that should’ve been developed, frankly, 30, 40 years ago, and somehow there was just zero research and development into developing a wound closure device,” similar to Sylke, Mofid said.
Mofid said a similar study was conducted comparing Sylke to 3M’s Steri-Strip wound closure, another common post-surgery dressing, which found that the Steri-Strip resulted in a wound complication rate around 20%, while Sylke remained near zero.
“I developed it out of necessity for myself, really, in the operating room,” he said. “And then as soon as I realized just what a game changer it was, I kind of wanted the whole world to know about it.”
Sylke
FOUNDED: 2023
CEO: Dr. M. Mark Mofid
HEADQUARTERS: La Jolla
BUSINESS: Biotech
FUNDRAISING: $5.5 million
EMPLOYEES: 10
WEBSITE: www.sylke.com
NOTABLE: Mofid is a Johns Hopkins University-trained plastic surgeon in private practice with offices in La Jolla and Chula Vista
