Biotech Company Mycodev Receives VC Investment

NBIF today announced a $500,000 venture capital investment in Mycodev Group Inc. MycoDev’s main product, a biopolymer called chitosan, is highly sought after by a wide variety of industries, especially the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

“Chitosan is an extremely effective coagulant that, when combined with other agents, can almost immediately stop bleeding and promote healing in humans,” says NBIF CEO Calvin Milbury, “although chitosan is already on the market, its traditional production method leaves impurities that can prevent its use in pharmaceutical products.”

Chitosan is traditionally made by extracting it from shrimp and lobster shells. Due to some unfavorable characteristics, widespread use in humans has not developed, and is restricted to veterinary applications. Mycodev’s patented process produces chitosan by extracting it from a selected species of fungus. Mycodev’s product will allow companies to develop products that are safer for human use, opening a market that manufacturers have been striving for.

Fetching thousands of dollars per kilogram, Chitosan can also be used in applications such as drug delivery, cancer treatment, surgical hemostats and more.

“The world market for chitosan is estimated to be $21 billion by 2015 with medical wound care attributing $3 billion to that total amount,” says Mycodev CEO Brennan Sisk, “the $100 million medical wound care market is our primary target.”

The company is currently refining its product for use as a main ingredient in surgical hemostatic hydrogels and trauma care. NBIF’s investment will be used in part for the purchase of production equipment and fine-tuning their production and extraction process in order to meet growing customer demand for the ultra-pure chitosan.