Utah Innovation Fund Invests in Purgo Scientific
August 15, 2024
Utah Innovation Fund is pleased to announce its recent investment in Purgo Scientific, a De Novo biotech firm with a mission to revolutionize treatment of surgical site infections. The Salt Lake City-based startup is Utah Innovation Fund’s seventh investment to date out of its $30M state-backed fund.
“What’s unique about Purgo is their focus on biofilm-related infections,” said Stan Oaks, Senior Associate at Utah Innovation Fund. “Most available solutions for surgical site infections are designed to fight planktonic bacteria, but biofilm-related infections are the bigger killer,” he continued. “This is a huge pain point.”
A biofilm forms when bacteria develop a self-protecting, 3D structure in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. Once biofilms have formed, infections they cause become harder to treat by orders of magnitude. Affecting everyone from wounded soldiers to patients of routine orthopedic surgeries, some estimate biofilm-related infections claim as many lives annually as cancer.
“I’m confident that Purgo will save many lives,” said Co-Founder Dustin Williams. “It’s been an incredible journey so far thanks to our talented team of researchers, engineers, and business experts.” Williams, who directs the Bone and Biofilm Research Lab at the University of Utah, is the original inventor of Purgo’s flagship product, the Purgo Pouch. The candy bar-sized pouch is placed inside the wound and filled with antibiotics which steadily permeate until stubborn biofilm-related infections are eradicated. Upon removal, the pouch collapses to the size of a catheter tube and is removed gently from the patient’s body.
While testing the Pouch, the Purgo team discovered a second application for their invention– veterinary medicine. “Through our extensive safety and efficacy studies in animal models, we knew the Pouch worked extremely well in sheep,” explained CEO Mike Benjamin. “A robust voice of customer study revealed that there was a serious unmet need in the animal health sector as well, and we knew we could help. That’s when we founded Vetlen Advanced Veterinary Devices.” Directed by former Zomedica (NYSEAMERICAN: ZOM) Co-Founder Stephanie Morley, Vetlen is an exciting advancement in veterinary medicine. “Vetlen Pouch provides an effective, direct and dynamic approach to treating surgical or injury sites,” said Brad Lingenfelter, DVM. “It simply works well.”
Collaboration between Utah Innovation Fund and Purgo Scientific also works well. Purgo checks all the boxes for the Fund, from experienced founders to multiple future revenue streams. As Managing Director Jerry Henley asserts, “We believe that Purgo Scientific will add to the list of very successful companies that stem from universities in the state of Utah.”