A growing Cincinnati startup run by multiple Procter & Gamble alums is developing new treatments for both humans and animals.
Noxsano, a wound care company, uses its patented technology to deliver biosignaling molecules to effectively treat both acute and chronic wounds.
Noxsano CEO Alan Willey, who spent 26 years at the Cincinnati-based consumer goods giant in research and development, explained that nitric oxide has multiple uses within bodily functions, including telling the body when to heal. It is responsible for every stage of healing. When you get a cut, the body starts developing local nitric oxide within a day or two, which then activates the healing process. It controls the process until the wound is fully healed. For diabetics, this process is slowed, often to a dangerous point.
He decided to pursue the idea with some former P&G colleagues. They frequently engaged in discussions exploring potential alternative applications for the technology they were working on.
The American Diabetes Association reports that approximately 154,000 individuals with diabetes undergo amputation annually. This equates to a limb being amputated due to diabetes every 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Noxsano was founded after one of Willey’s friends almost lost his leg due to an infectious wound that was unable to heal due to diabetes.
“It is a huge problem that does not have a good solution,” Willey told me. “We believe Noxsano has a good solution.”
Although Noxsano started with a desire to treat chronic wounds specifically, the team decided to expand as they found “everybody’s wounds heal faster with nitric oxide.”
“It has application in surgical wounds, trauma wounds, and eventually your average cuts and scrapes,” Willey said.
Noxsano's wound treatment products come in both pad and gel form. The pad, made of a material similar to a disposable diaper, uses a galvanic reaction of carbon and aluminum to create an electrical current. This current reduces sodium nitrite into nitric oxide. The amount of nitric oxide delivered is controlled by adjusting the voltage of the current.
The level of nitric oxide produced is designed to stimulate the middle of the first phase of wound healing.
The pad is activated by water and can be wrapped for up to seven days. The gel works similarly, but it includes a thickening solution to form a film when spread.
As of right now, the products are only authorized for use in treating animals. The human products will work the same way, with the only difference being packaging and sterilization required by the FDA.
The Covid-19 pandemic halted Noxsano’s ability to conduct research, conduct human testing and use laboratories. Instead of pausing the project altogether, Noxsano shifted its focus to another target market that was initially planned for a later stage: the veterinary market.
“The veterinary field was still moving, animals were still getting hurt. It allowed us to continue working on the product. We completed the development piece and started working with vets in 2022. They loved it,” Willey said.
The products are awaiting FDA approval for use on humans, but Willey said the company is planning on filing a 510(k), as the products for humans and animals would work in the same way, and the animal aspect has proven its efficiency.
“The system that works in a dog is identical to the system that works in us. The biology is essentially the same,” Willey explained.
The next couple years for the company include efficacy testing, human compatibility testing and storage stability testing. If the FDA approves the 510(k), Willey says they will begin clinical work and marketing the product.
“We are raising money to allow us to do the development to move into the human business. We hope we can be on the market by early 2026,” Willey said.
In terms of fundraising, Noxsano has raised a total of about $3 million through equity sales and angel donors over the last three years. In its newly opened round, the company is looking to sell more equity shares to raise about $2 million more.
Noxsano was recently awarded a Leap grant from Main Street Ventures, a nonprofit organization that doles non-equity funding to entrepreneurs and startups in the Tri-State.
The company is backed by startup incubator Alloy Growth Lab.
