Garwood Medical Devices raises $4 million Series C funding to help patients suffering from bacterial biofilm infections

Infection is the most serious complication of joint replacement. 2.2 percent of prosthetic hip or knee replacements develop infection over the lifetime of the prosthetic joint resulting in treatment costs over $12B annually. Garwood Medical Devices is a Buffalo, New York-based tech startup that develops electronic medical devices intended to eliminate the need for follow-up surgeries. Its mission is to help all patients suffering from bacterial biofilm infections by utilizing its innovative technologies that will one day have the potential to enhance the current standard of care, with the goal being to allow patients to retain the implants.

Garwood has developed BioPrax, a minimally invasive device is currently under investigation to evaluate whether the device can help eliminate biofilm infections on prosthetic joints during early-intervention procedures. In in-vivo animal models, BioPrax has shown a 99.6% biofilm reduction with no increased bone or tissue damage as compared to antibiotics alone, which achieved only 81.17% reduction.

Today, Garwood announced a Series C financing round of $4 million to support additional preclinical testing for its BioPrax™ device. The round was led by The Murray Family with a $600,000 investment, will be eligible to purchase additional units through September 2021 and take advantage of an additional equity offering through 2025. Garwood was over-subscribed by $800,000 in its Series B round lead by the WNY Impact Investment Fund who invested $500,000 in November 2019.

The FDA granted BioPrax Breakthrough Device Designation October 11, 2019, for products that may provide more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions. BioPrax swine studies are expected to begin in September and first-in-human studies in the third quarter of 2021.

Founded in 2014 by Wayne Bacon, Garwood specializes in healthcare innovation and holds the exclusive license for the core BioPrax technology developed by the University at Buffalo. UB and Garwood continue to partner in technology development and protection for the long-haul to support future market success. Its mission is to advance infection control through innovation. These technologies are currently under investigation for FDA marketing authorization. The company currently holds 10 registered and pending patents.

Garwood’s devices utilize a biofilm disruption technology to make infection-causing bacteria visible to the immune system and antibiotics by breaking down the biofilm on implants in order to disrupt before complications arise, enabling medical practitioners to treat implant infections in a better and effective manner.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the healthcare system and is motivating medical professionals to reevaluate all treatment standards,” said Wayne Bacon, Garwood Medical’s CEO. “During this time of reinvention, hospital administrators are actively seeking out new technologies that have the potential to support the delivery of safe, effective treatment options with the least amount of risk to patients.”