Since joining the Fogarty Institute less than a year ago with its U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance in hand, Marz Medical has received two patents and identified a novel plan to raise money and develop its product. The startup, which is developing a technology intended to shorten recovery time for patients undergoing breast reconstruction, is aiming to be market ready in the next 18 months with just three people on the team.
Tissue expansion for breast reconstruction currently takes from two to six months and is essentially a race between scar tissue formation and tissue expansion. By automating the process, Marz’s FDA-cleared BlossomTM technology can shorten tissue expansion to just seven to 10 days, in addition to significantly reducing the number of physician visits required. One in eight women are diagnosed with cancer each year, and about 100,000 of them undergo mastectomy in the U.S.
The technology offers a new approach to tissue expansion by automating the process of administrating saline to breast expanders used in reconstruction via a smart controller. Blossom monitors pressure and adds saline in small amounts, being available to act 24/7 in the comfort of a patient’s own home in lieu of the physician’s WEEKLY visits. Patient can also self-adjust saline flow based on comfort.
Marz will soon be undergoing its second round of clinical trials at Stanford University. The first round resulted in 100 percent of the cases being successfully completed in seven to 10 days.
The technology was developed by plastic surgeon Josh Korman, MD, who also practices at El Camino Hospital, has taught at Stanford University for 20 years and is currently Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor. The company is spearheaded by CEO Kerry Pope, who is also the executive director of mentoring at the Fogarty Institute. Marz has partnered with Nottingham Spirk, a business innovation and product design firm with a proven vertically integrated development capability that includes fund raising for their clients.