Alberta firm devises effective pressure-wound gel

CALGARY – NanoTess, a company based in Calgary, is producing a gel called NanoSALV that helps prompt your own body to heal skin infections, inflammation and injuries. Their innovative wound care product has already been recognized both provincially and nationally – and now international doctors are expressing interest.

NanoTess was co-founded by Julian Mulia (pictured), a chemical and software engineer, 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,” Mulia told Global News.

NanoTess Inc., describes the treatment as “a Health Canada-authorized medical device in the form of a liquid matrix that facilitates wound healing using catalytic technology.”

It is a gel that transforms into a film, like a liquid bandage, that contains catalytic technology, which allows healing reactions to happen better and faster. Officials say they are not aware of any products in Canada using similar technology to heal wounds.

“It’s designed for anything from minor cuts and scrapes to pressure injuries or diabetic foot ulcers,” said 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.”

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 said. The sore started on his backside and eventually infected a bone in his pelvis.

He explained 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.

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 said.

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.

Dr. Katrina DeZeeuw, who treats patients with chronic wounds at Bruyère Health in Ottawa, admits she was skeptical when the hospital’s innovation team suggested she try the new product on patients with non-healing wounds for four weeks to see if it made a difference.

“In chronic wounds, changes don’t often happen fast,” DeZeeuw told the Ottawa Citizen. “If you take a wound that has been the same for a year and you are trying something on it and only giving it four weeks, I was worried that wouldn’t be enough time.”

She knew there was no such thing as a “magic cure” for the complex patients she saw daily.

For most people, cuts and wounds heal in a matter of days or weeks. But in some patients, especially those who are older or have other chronic conditions such as diabetes or poor circulation, healing can take significantly longer and unhealed wounds can become chronic, prone to infection, and even life-threatening.

DeZeeuw began using the salve on eight patients, choosing those “with the most challenging wounds I have in my patient population.” The patients all had wounds that had been present for at least one year and as long as three years. There had been no improvement for at least six to 12 months. Johnson was among them.

After four weeks, something surprising happened. For most patients, the complex wounds began to look — and feel — different. DeZeeuw wasn’t expecting to see 100 per cent healing in just four weeks, but what she saw through careful tracking was encouraging.

On average, the wounds in those patients decreased in size by 26 per cent. Half of the patients saw their wounds decrease by between 30 and 47.5 percent in four weeks. One patient, who experienced extreme pain every time her dressings were changed, no longer felt pain.

After the initial four weeks, DeZeeuw continued using the treatment on five patients. Treatment was stopped on two others who had seen no improvement, and one patient died of unrelated causes.

After eight weeks, the changes were even more profound. The average improvement was 49 per cent. Some wounds improved by as much as 80 per cent.