Mercury Biomed Awarded $1.4 Million

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - December 02, 2015) - The Ohio Third Frontier Commercialization Acceleration Loan Fund (CALF) has awarded Mercury Biomed a $1.4 million loan to accelerate its efforts in developing and commercializing its patented Smart Temperature Management System™ technology for warming and cooling patients.

Mercury Biomed was founded earlier this year as a joint venture between Texas-based CoolCore and Cleveland-based Innovative Medical Equipment (IME) to commercialize its breakthrough non-invasive approach to tapping into the body’s natural way of raising and lowering its core temperature.

The company’s proprietary Smart Temperature Management System™ was developed by Dr. Kenneth Diller, a world-renowned expert on bioheat transfer, professor and founding chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas.

“We are grateful to the State of Ohio for the CALF award,” said Brad Pulver, CEO of Mercury Biomed. “We located our company in Cleveland, The Medical Capital, because of access to this type of valuable funding and to world-class medical institutions such as Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.”

The company’s WarmSmart and SmartCool product applications work via a patented two-step process. First, a device applies heat along the back of the neck to send a signal to the body’s natural thermostat, which responds by increasing blood flow on-demand to the body’s compact physiological heat exchangers -- the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.

Then, water-circulating tubes supply either heat or cold to polymeric cooling pads, “slippers” and “mittens,” which attach to the hands and feet. The technology utilizes the induced high rate of blood flow between the extremities and the body core to accelerate naturally occurring bioheat transfer processes. The result is a non-invasive and rapid addition or removal of heat from the body core.

“The potential for our Smart Temperature Management technology is tremendous, as there are more than 65 million surgical procedures and ischemic events such as sudden cardiac arrest, stroke and traumatic brain injury occurring each year in the U.S. alone that require core body cooling or warming,” said Brian Patrick, co-founder and vice president of Mercury Biomed. “The U.S. market for temperature management solutions is more than $2 billion, and private payer and Medicare reimbursement is already well-established.”

Clinical trials for WarmSmart are underway at a premier medical institution in Cleveland led by top experts in perioperative patient warming. Hypothermia is a common problem for patients undergoing surgery because anesthesia inhibits the body’s ability to maintain its normal body temperature.

WarmSmart is designed to be smarter, safer and more effective than the standard forced-air warming technology since it provides greater patient access, makes patient warming easier for operating room staff, and poses no risk of forced-air warming contamination that can lead to surgical site infections and other adverse effects.

Clinical trials for SmartCool are scheduled for early 2016 and will be led by the same clinical investigators that were involved in past landmark therapeutic hypothermia trials. Inducing mild hypothermia in patients suffering ischemic events has been shown to reduce irreversible brain and organ damage, especially when patient core body temperatures are lowered close to the time of injury. SmartCool can cool patients quickly and safely by emergency medical first responders in the field and transitions effortlessly to the hospital and recovery.

Mercury Biomed expects to launch WarmSmart and SmartCool in 2016 and 2018, respectively, pending the outcomes of clinical trials and FDA 510 (k) clearances.

About Mercury Biomed
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Mercury Biomed, LLC is commercializing its proprietary Smart Temperature Management System™ technology, a breakthrough non-invasive and holistic approach to cooling and warming patients when and where it matters most. Founded in 2015, the company is led by top scientific experts and entrepreneurs in the field of therapeutic temperature management. Mercury Biomed’s WarmSmart and SmartCool products are currently in clinical trials and are targeted for launch in 2016 and 2018, respectively, pending FDA (501 (k) clearances. www.mercurybiomed.com