Student grudge match

Bani Cipriano, Matthew Dowling and Peter Thomas

School: University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business

Team Members: Matthew Dowling, Peter Thomas, Bani Cipriano, Oluwatosin Ogunsola, Akinola Dosunmu

Concept: Remedium Technologies is developing products designed to stop bleeding caused by injury or surgery. The company has two products in the works: a freeze-dried sponge, to be applied directly to a wound in order to control hemorrhaging; and a spray-on liquid to treat minor bleeding and seal tissue during surgical procedures.

Both products rely on a proprietary biopolymer-based material that gently adheres to tissue. The material comes off easily after the wound heals.

The sponge will be marketed to the U.S. military and hospital emergency rooms. The spray will be marketed to hospital surgical centers. Remedium believes its product is more effective than similar products currently on the market, and also cheaper to manufacture, giving the company a competitive edge.

Team members Dowling and Thomas are Ph.D. candidates studying bioengineering, with experience researching biopolymers. Ogunsola has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and is a research associate at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Timeline: The sponge and spray are currently undergoing pre-clinical testing on pigs, and the company has applied for a provisional patent for its biopolymer technology. The team estimates two years for product development and FDA approval. One year after the U.S. launch, the company plans to expand into Africa and South America, where inexpensive medical solutions are in demand, with help from government and philanthropic organizations. The company expects to be profitable by year three. -Stephenie Fletcher

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