Press Releases

March 1, 2008
Stratatech Selected for $750,000 DOD Grant

Stratatech Corporation has received notice that it has been selected to receive a $750,000 Phase II award from the Department of Defense, Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Under this grant, Stratatech will continue its studies of a field-ready antimicrobial wound dressing. There is a critical need for innovative therapeutics to treat battlefield injuries resulting from thermal injury or exposure to chemicals. Current skin substitutes are viable tissues with short shelf lives that must be maintained under carefully controlled conditions. The availability of a ready-to-use, antimicrobial skin substitute that is readily deployed in the field would provide immediate closure of these wounds and reduce the risk of infection. This Stratatech technology promises to fill this need by providing a stable, ready-to-use engineered skin tissue that can be applied without the need for dedicated trauma facilities.

Stratatech, which currently has 25 employees, was established in 2000 and operates from within the MGE Innovation Center in University Research Park in Madison, WI. In addition to its flagship product, StrataGraft™ skin tissue for the treatment of burns and other life threatening wounds, Stratatech is developing a portfolio of engineered skin tissue products that are genetically modified to promote the healing of chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, venous stasis ulcers and pressure ulcers (bedsores). Stratatech’s products are based on a patented, unique source of pathogen-free human skin cells that was identified at the University of Wisconsin.