Innovation

Asclepii’s Innovation comes in the form of its product, Artemis. Artemis is a bioactive wound care solution that is made up of bioactive materials and nanotechnology that was invented by the founder, Franco Kraiselburd, for the solution to diabetic foot ulcers. Traditionally, the gold standard for treating such wounds involved blood or cell therapy, where cells would be harvested, processed with calcium, and then applied onto a scaffold. Although effective, it is time-consuming. Artemis revolutionizes this approach by consolidating all the necessary components for cell processing into a single scaffold.

Inspiration

Franco Kraiselburd’s venture into affordable wound-healing technology was inspired by his early work in stem-cell research and a realization of the urgent need for cost-effective healthcare solutions. The prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers following a rise in obesity meant that the market share for wound-healing solutions continues to grow rapidly, especially considering that it causes 80% of all non-traumatic lower extremity amputations.

Witnessing the limitations and high costs of existing treatments for diabetic foot ulcers, particularly in a market dominated by expensive options from big pharma, Kraiselburd was motivated to find a sustainable alternative, especially since most solutions were financially out of reach for many in less affluent countries.

Kraiselburd’s innovation was driven by the challenge that "the number 1 issue with solutions is that the solutions are not scalable enough," along with the unsustainable profit models of current healthcare solutions. He noted the stark disparity in care costs, stating, “other countries cannot afford a healthcare system as expensive as America” and critiqued the prevailing profit-driven model as "unsustainable." This inspiration guided him to develop a groundbreaking product aimed at drastically reducing the cost of wound care from the industry standard of $300-$1,700 per application to just $22, making it accessible on an international scale.

With a focus on creating a systemic impact rather than just a profitable product, Kraiselburd set out to revolutionize wound care. He believes his effort could begin new standards in affordable and effective treatment for diabetic foot ulcers, thus paving the way for a revolutionary wound care system and prevent many more amputations in the world.

Overall impact

The impact of diabetic wound treatment cannot be understated. Firstly, Artemis’s impact on Asclepii as a whole. Artemis is the flagship product of the company and is the focus of all of the company’s extensive medical research. As such, the success of the company as a whole hinges on the development of the Artemis wound care system, as well as its global scalability.

The social impact of Artemis is potentially groundbreaking. When it comes to the general healthcare of individuals with diabetes, the system addresses a major issue within the diabetic population: foot ulcers. Diabetic individuals suffer from this issue because of the extreme prevalence of diabetic vasculopathy. Diabetic vasculopathy encompasses a large basket of issues that diabetics experience relating to vasculature of tissue. This degeneration of vasculature in tissue leads to not enough blood flow, and when combined with issues like pressure ulcers leads to a very high amount of lower limb amputations. In fact, vascular degeneration is the leading cause of lower limb amputation by a large margin. Having this novel, bioactive wound care solution to pressure ulcers is a great way to potentially decrease amputations and massively increase the standard of living for affected individuals.

Business benefit

One interesting fact about the business is that it is able to inspire at all ages. Kraiselburd, the founder, at just 14 years of age was concerned with what his business now directly affects. At 14 years old Kraiselburd started his first ever job, working in a lab. This lab primarily worked in assisting diabetic patients with wound care. He found that this sector of medical assistance and hospitalization took a huge toll on the healthcare system as a whole. After feeling somewhat traumatized from seeing everything, Kraiselburd has felt motivated him to improve the current system ever since. Not only can this company's mission appeal to people from a young age, they also have a large reach with their various partners around the world.

With their new product Artemis, Asclepii garnered interest from various companies and potential partners across the globe. Currently they have four main partners, Tecnológico de Monterrey, The Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University, The National Science Foundation, and The University of São Paulo. As clearly shown by their various partnerships, Asclepii has created a clearly beneficial investment opportunity backed by their main product Artemis. With access to Northeast Ohio's HealthTech ecosystem through the Veale Institute, Asclepii is able to make connections to further benefit both the company as well as all the patients their product intends to treat.

Social and environmental benefit

The other aspect of Artemis that serves to have potentially massive social impact is the pricing of the product. Kraiselburd said during the interview, “Other countries cannot afford a healthcare system as expensive as America.” This is extremely evident in many countries around the world. The US is the single biggest spender on healthcare and healthcare solutions in the world, and Kraiselburd also says as a result, “Solutions are skewed towards a profit model that is unsustainable.”

Common solutions in the US currently cost roughly 300-1700 dollars per application, and this dressing application may be needed 8+ times over the course of several months before the wound is finally able to heal. Asclepii’s Artemis product is aiming at a significantly lower price point of roughly 22 dollars per application. This would be a massive increase to the number of countries that a wound-specific bandage would be available to, and as a result a large decrease in seriously disfiguring lower limb wounds that would normally end in amputation.

Interview

Franco Kraiselburd, Founder