At 17, genius Joe Landolina invented VetiGel, an algae-based polymer that can completely stop a wound gushing with blood in under 12 seconds.
Now 22, Landolina is the cofounder and CEO of Suneris, a Brooklyn-based biotech company that manufactures the solution.
The gel works like Legos instantly putting themselves together once it’s injected. Each batch of VetiGel begins as algae which is broken up into tiny pieces. Once injected, the tiny pieces immediately form into mesh that holds the wound together. Landolina told Yahoo:
“What that means, on the one hand, is that the gel will make a very strong adhesive that holds the wound together. But on the other hand, that mesh acts as a scaffold to help the body produce fibrin at the wound’s surface.”
Fibrin helps to repair tissue over time, so the result of injecting VetiGel is an instant and permanent seal to help encourage the healing of any damaged tissue or soft organ. After a few minutes, the gel can be safely removed.
Landolina, who created the gel in his grandfather’s lab while still in high school, announced last week that Suneris will begin shipping the gel to veterinarians in the U.S. later this summer to use on animals. VetiGel has so far partnered with British animal medicine firm VetPlus to expand global manufacturing.
The first batches of the product will cost $150 for a five-pack of 5 milliliter syringes. Suneris has yet to discover any negative side effects with the use of VetiGel.
The gel’s use on human wounds are expected to be approved by the FDA in the next year.
In the span of five years, Landolina went from a high school inventor to the cofounder and CEO of a blossoming biotech company that may shape the world of medicine.
