A French startup, Tissium, has begun deploying a light-activated biopolymer in the US to help peripheral nerves heal after injury. In a US finger-nerve trial of 12 patients, everyone regained temperature, pain, texture and light touch a year later—with no repo
The moment a peripheral nerve is cut, surgeons are racing against time—and against the consequences of something as small as millimeters and as fragile as a healing biology that has to stay exactly where it’s supposed to be.
Tissium. a French firm. says it has started using a thick. sticky liquid that can hold severed nerve ends in place while tissue mends itself. The approach swaps out, and supplements, traditional medical stitches with a biopolymer that attaches to tissue when exposed to light. Made from fatty acid and glycerol—both substances that naturally occur in the body—the material acts like a splint. After the body heals, it biodegrades, leaving nerves intact.
Peripheral nerves form a sprawling network running from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. When one is cut. injuries from knives or machinery are among the examples discussed in the company’s work. the two ends need to be held so the nerve can repair itself slowly. If that alignment fails, symptoms can range from tingling and no feeling at all to electrical-like stabbing pain.
For surgeons, the difficulty is that aligning severed nerves is a delicate task. Tissium cofounder and deputy chief executive officer Maria Pereira describes micro-sutures as “a very delicate technique. ” adding that the company is trying to provide “a new way and a better way for peripheral nerves to be prepared in a consistent manner. a less traumatic matter. and with better patient outcomes.”.
That consistency is the promise behind the trial results Tissium shared for finger injuries. The company ran a trial with 12 patients in the US who had injured nerves in their fingers. All 12 regained the ability to feel temperature, pain, texture, and light touch in their fingers. In the same comparison, Tissium says outcomes with other techniques are a little over 80 percent. A year later, none of the patients reported pain or device-related complications.
The treatment is already available for surgeons to purchase in the US. Tissium also points to support from regulators: the product received FDA marketing approval last year, and the company plans to continue manufacturing in northern France.
“While further evidence is needed. it’s exciting to see more advanced biomaterials and regenerative medical techniques at the disposal of the modern surgeon. ” said Simran Chana. a surgeon. materials scientist. and director of the Frontier Technologies Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Chana is not involved with Tissium’s work.
The company’s push is also backed by money aimed at scaling beyond nerve repair alone. Tissium has raised €30 million in private investments from venture capital firms and family offices to expand commercialization. and an additional €30 million in debt financing from the European Investment Bank. the European Union’s lending arm. The firm says it will keep manufacturing its product—approved by the FDA—while using the funding to bring the technology to other medical problems.
The next target is hernia treatment. Tissium expects to enroll around 200 patients in a US trial designed to help the body heal after hernia treatment. Surgeons typically heal hernias by pushing the bulging organ or tissue back through the muscle wall and reinforcing the area with stitches and mesh. Pereira points to what can go wrong there: “there can be some inconsistency on how the sutures are performed. which can impact outcomes.” She says the company’s treatment can provide that consistency. which in turn can improve the recovery process.
Pereira is also finalizing results from a European study testing the treatment on 78 patients undergoing hernia repair. She says surgeons have applied Tissium’s goo 100 percent of the time. and that patients showed signs of improved quality of life in terms of pain levels. recovery. and activities. along with a lower recurrence rate of hernias.
Beyond hernias, Tissium is developing products for cardiovascular reconstruction. That is the original application Pereira conceived while earning a PhD in bioengineering nearly 20 years ago. The company says it is preparing to launch a randomized pivotal trial in the US for its cardiovascular product. and that the new funding will support that work.
If Tissium’s material can reliably hold tissue in place—then degrade after healing—its implications go further than one surgical technique. For patients facing nerve injuries. the stakes are direct: returning even partial function can mean more than pain relief. it can mean getting sensation back in the fingers. For surgeons, it can mean a tool designed to make a meticulous process more consistent. And for a startup betting on regenerative materials. the question is whether those early outcomes can withstand larger trials as the technology moves from fingers to hernias—and potentially beyond.
Tissium light-activated biopolymer peripheral nerve repair FDA marketing approval Maria Pereira hernia trial European Investment Bank regenerative medicine biopolymer gel cardiovascular reconstruction