Boston, Massachusetts– Gel4Med, a commercial-stage biomaterials company, today announced that it has been awarded as a recipient of funding from MassVentures, Massachusetts’ strategic venture capital arm dedicated to fueling the growth of high-potential deep tech startups across the Commonwealth as part of their Phase III START program.
The START (SBIR Targeted Technologies) program is designed to bridge the gap between early-stage SBIR/STTR funding and the resources needed to bring innovations to market. Massachusetts- based companies have received over $4 billion in Federal SBIR/STTR grants since 2012. The START program helps them catalyze this funding to build successful businesses. In 2025, Gel4Med was selected as one of 26 high-growth Massachusetts companies to receive a share of $4.5 million in non-dilutive grants.
Gel4Med is distinguished as one of only three companies from the original 2023 cohort to have secured funding in every stage of the START program. This accomplishment underscores the company’s excellence, given that only 3.75% of applicants successfully advance through Stages 1, 2, and 3.
“We’re honored to be recognized by MassVentures and the START program as one of the top performing companies in the state of Massachusetts,” said Manav Mehta, CEO of Gel4Med. “This funding comes at a pivotal time as we bring our engineered tissue repair solutions—G4Derm™ Plus and Suprello™—to market and advance our mission to improve health outcomes and expand patient access through innovative biomaterials.”
The START grant will support Gel4Med’s commercial launch of G4Derm™ Plus and Suprello™ through scaling their operations, building their clinical education programs, and investing in continued product awareness and education. With this support, Gel4Med aims to accelerate progress toward challenging the status quo in wound care, surgical reconstruction, and tissue regeneration.
“Massachusetts is a leader in deep tech innovation thanks to its strong startup ecosystem and programs like START,” said Manav Mehta, Gel4Med, CEO. “We’re grateful to MassVentures for their investment in local innovation and their support of entrepreneurs working to solve complex challenges.”
MassVentures announced the START grant recipients in its May 2025 press release, highlighting the role of deep tech companies in driving economic growth and technological leadership in the Commonwealth. The START program has awarded over $35 million to more than 100 Massachusetts-based companies since its inception, helping generate more than $4 billion in public and private investment.
About Gel4Med
Founded out of Harvard Innovation Labs/Harvard University, Gel4Med is a
commercial-stage materials science company dedicated to pioneering innovative
treatments for unmet clinical needs. Utilizing our patent-protected Smart
Materials Platform™, which uses synthetic biology and peptides, we design and
engineer therapeutic materials with unparalleled customization. Esteemed
investors, including Peter Thiel/Breakout Labs, National Institutes of Health
(NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), National Science Foundation (NSF),
Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC), and Mass Ventures, have recognized
and funded our potential. Our robust product pipeline addresses various unmet
clinical needs across applications such as surgery, cell delivery, drug
delivery, and immunomodulation.
Media Contact
For media inquiries, please contact Rebecca Salamone at
rebecca.salamone@gelformed.com
