A Calgary-based company is getting showered with awards for an innovative new treatment of chronic and acute wounds.
NanoTess was co-founded by Julian Mulia after his parents died from conditions that involved severe wounds.
The company manufactures a gel called NanoSALV to help heal skin injuries, burns, infections and inflammation.
“We grabbed really complex technology, in an easy-to-use-solution that can go with you from the hospital to your home,” explained Mulia.
As we age or develop conditions such as diabetes, our body lacks the resources or the right conditions to trigger its own healing, known as “activation energy” — which the company said it similar to the spark needed to start a car.
In a nutshell, the gel helps to lower the energy input needed for a reaction (healing) to occur. Due to the way the product is designed, NanoTess said a small dab goes a long way.
“It’s designed for anything from minor cuts and scrapes to pressure injuries or diabetic foot ulcers,” explained CEO Megan Leslie.
A lot of the products on the market today are focused on treating infection, Leslie said, adding that doesn’t necessarily result in healing.
“The big difference with our catalytic technology is we’re able to facilitate the natural wound healing process.
“We’re able to eliminate the infection, while at the same time, helping those healthy cells heal.”
The company said the components used in NanoSALV are either already present in your wound biology or can exist in the body without disrupting its natural environment — supporting the body’s inherent healing processes.
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NanoSALV is essentially like Polysporin — but on steroids.
Bruce Jamieson knows what it’s like to have a festering wound: a pressure sore he got in the hospital turned into a nightmare.
“Started off small and it eventually went all the way to the bone,” he explained. The sore started on his backside and eventually infected a bone in his pelvis.
“I’m quadriplegic, so I don’t have sensation there. I couldn’t feel it.”
He said the chronic wound wasn’t just painful, it also ate away at his quality of life.
“I was on bed rest for 20 hours a day, going on two years,” he said.
“I had to stop working.”
At the wound clinic in Calgary, Jamieson said his doctor asked if he’d want to be part of an Alberta Health Services trial for NanoSALV.
Having exhausted other options, he opted in and it worked.
“Different products, different dressings — nothing really seemed to improve the wound the way that NanoSALV did,” Jamieson explained.
“With the wound healed now, it’s given me my life back.”
Cody Peach was in a similar situation.
“I became diabetic when I was 40, then I began to get ulcers on my feet,” he said.
He wore an air cast for three years after a small foot sore became seriously infected.
Then, he tried NanoSALV and his wound was finally able to heal.
“It doesn’t hurt, it’s easy to apply and you don’t need a lot of it.”
Mulia said by using the gel early in the development of a skin issue, more serious wounds can be prevented — helping to reduce the strain on primary care doctors and emergency rooms.
According to NanoTess, chronic wounds currently cost Alberta Health $1.5 billion a year to treat.
NanoTess’ success has earned the company a number of awards.
- National CAN Health Network 2024 Company of the Year Award
- 2024 Alberta ASTech Award – Medical/Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals
- National CAN Health Network 2023 Innovation Award
- A100’s One to Watch
- Start Alberta’s Most Promising Startup Entrepreneur Award
NanoSALV costs about $3-5 per treatment (depending on the size of tube purchased), and doesn’t require a prescription.
It’s available in select independent pharmacies or online in three sizes: a small two-gram tube containing about eight doses for $39, a medium five-gram tube containing about 20 applications for $83, and a large, 15-gram tube containing around 60 applications for $200.
Mulia said he’s already fielding requests from international doctors.
“We’re Canadian first and now we’re going to be exporting to the world,” he said.
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