The ONR Global annual report has highlighted a U.S. Navy grant to Kerecis.
Arlington, Virginia – August 14, 2017 – The U.S. Office of Naval Research Global 2016 Annual Report has highlighted a U.S. Navy grant to Kerecis to develop a fish-skin solution for the acute care of severely injured limbs.
The goal of the grant is to expand the use of Kerecis FDA-approved technology for the use of temporarily covering of limbs injured or lost by explosives. Specifically, the fish skin will be used from the time of injury until the patient is in a full-service hospital. A shift in the nature of injuries from a traditional battlefield pattern to fighting against insurgents who use improvised explosive devices has brought these types of injuries to the forefront of care for injured servicemen and women. The death rate and seriousness of wounds in insurgent warfare are higher than in battlefield conditions.
Cadaver skin has been the preferred initial treatment for severe burns and is frequently used in the hospital setting. Skin grafting is the doctor’s preferred way to treat stabilized burn wounds. In battlefield and other austere environments, however, neither cadaver skin nor skin grafting is practical.
“Kerecis is committed to developing better remedies for injured U.S. service members,” explains G. Fertram Sigurjonsson, the company’s founder and CEO. “This partnership allows us to modify and test our existing FDA-approved fish-skin technology as a potential alternative to cadaver skin and grafts in burn injuries in animal models and in a small human clinical study.”
“In an interconnected world, where knowledge has no borders, ONR Global is essential to our mission of delivering decisive new capabilities to naval forces,” writes Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral David J. Hahn in the report’s opening pages. “Forging partnerships around the world brings invaluable insights to our research efforts, and maximizes resources by leveraging ongoing programs in partner nations.”
About ONR Global
ONR Global acts as a two-way bridge from the U.S. naval fleet and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the international science and technology community, and foreign military partners to ONR to the Naval Research Enterprise and other Department of Defense and government agencies. From basic research to technology transition, ONR Global supports the Department of the Navy’s full spectrum of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation through its Science Advisor, International Science, and International Liaison Offices. ONR Global advances the discovery and delivery elements of ONR’s mission.
ONR Global is online at https://www.onr.navy.mil/Science-Technology/ONR-Global.
