Ablitech, Inc.

Ablitech was initially located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, but moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 2012. Ablitech was founded in 2006 by two graduate students, Nick Hammond and Lisa Kemp. Their first product was a biodegradable stent. Another product called Versadel, is claimed to stop the growth of cancer cells in human serum by delivering siRNA to silence genes controlling cell growth. Versadel is a biocompatible gene delivery system for gene therapies to treat cancer, HIV and other diseases caused by genetic abnormalities.

Ablitech won a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense, which is used to collaborate with scientists at the Army’s Telemedicine and Advance Technology Research Center in Fort Detrick, MD, to develop a treatment to stop a bone growth condition called Heterotopic Ossification in soldiers with lost limbs. In amputees the continuation of bone growth can require more surgeries and further amputation.