In Germany, about 750,000 patients are treated annually for kidney stones - about 400,000 undergo endoscopic surgery. Endoscopic treatment can result in smaller debris that stay behind. These remnants increase the risk of new kidney stone formation. This is where the mediNik project comes in, which was funded by GO-Bio until the end of March 2018. Under the leadership of Ingo Grunwald from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, the team has developed a biocompatible medical glue with selective adhesion for the removal of kidney stone residues for endoscopic therapy. According to Grunwald, the "wish of urologists to be able to free patients from small stone debris" is now "within reach" with the help of the new adhesive.

One advantage of the innovation: no additional instruments or procedural steps are required - the adhesive application can easily be integrated into existing endoscopic surgical procedures. As soon as the large kidney stones have been removed, the remaining residual fragments can be glued together using the mediNik adhesive. The resulting lump is large enough to be removed with the usual catching instruments. The adhesive only adheres to stone fragments and not to kidney tissue or the endoscope. "The polymerised and elastic adhesive gel is easily visible via the endoscope camera and gives the treating urologist indications of possible adhesive residues," said IFAM researcher Manfred Peschka explaining the progress made in medical technology.

First round of financing for the IFAM spin-off

From September 2014 to March 2018 the research team of the mediNik project was supported by GO-Bio. The funding allowed the development of a demonstrator of the adhesive. In December 2017, Grunwald, a biologist, and Peschka, an engineer, founded the spin-off company Purenum GmbH to launch the adhesive on the market. A financing agreement has now been concluded in which the High-Tech Gründerfond (HTGF) and the BAB Beteiligungs- und Managementgesellschaft Bremen - a 100% subsidiary of the Bremer Aufbau-Bank (BAB) - participated. The aim of the entrepreneurs is to bring the product onto the market within the next four years. In addition to the approval and marketing of the novel method, the two entrepreneurs also see potential for the use of further adhesives in medical technology. "With regard to the complex development of medical products are contacts to qualified research partners and users in the clinic, as well as the scientific expertise of Purenum GmbH employees, the right building blocks for a healthy future," said Ingo Grunwald and Manfred Peschka, describing the most important basis for their start-up.