Garwood Medical Devices had a busy 2022.
The company, which has developed BioPrax technology to treat infections on metallic orthopedic implants, raised nearly $797,000 last year, bringing its total raised to about $15 million.
Garwood was founded in 2014 with technology licensed out of the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University.
The company also started last year on two grant-funded projects with a University at Buffalo professor, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, according to CEO Wayne Bacon.
“We’ve done a tremendous amount of research and development to bring BioPrax through the steps with in vitro and in vivo studies, on our way to human trials,” he said.
Garwood has about 6,000 square feet of space on Northland Avenue, near the Northland Workforce Training Center, and has lab space at the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on Ellicott Street.
In November 2022, the business was selected for Johnson & Johnson Innovations’ Innovations for Vets QuickFire Challenge: Lung Cancer & Physical Trauma. As an awardee, Garwood received a $100,000 grant and will get mentorship from Johnson & Johnson company experts.
After getting into the MedTech Innovator Accelerator in late 2021, Garwood last year had a booth at the annual MedTech Conference, where Bacon participated in a speaker panel.
Rounding out the year, Garwood was accepted to Plug and Play Japan’s Health Program, which is an accelerator that connects participants with Japanese companies who are interested in innovative technologies. The accelerator started in December and runs into spring 2023.
The company, which employs about 15, expects to add two or three more positions this year in science and engineering.
When it comes to the business’ ultimate goal, Garwood is keeping its options open from the company manufacturing its own product to taking on a partner to make its product to being acquired.
To prepare for that time, Garwood has created pilot production lines to produce enough BioPrax to get through the human trial stage, so that the business isn’t dependent on a third-party manufacturer.
“We’re not trying to prejudge how things go, but we want to be ready for any of the potentials,” he said.
Garwood Medical Devices is one of 32 local companies to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding in 2022. See a full list here.
