GelSana’s Cleragel: Next-Generation Hydrogel for Chronic Wounds

Cleragel, a novel, anti-inflammatory hydrogel, could soon change the standard of care for chronic wounds.

Chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, are notoriously difficult to treat. Their persistent inflammation and elevated risk of infection can lead to serious complications, such as limb amputations. Traditional wound care methods, including hydrogels, fail to address chronic wound treatment challenges tailored explicitly. While hydrogels offer many benefits for acute wound care, those currently on the market do not address inflammation. GelSana’s Cleragel, specifically tailored for chronic wounds, seeks to address this issue and revolutionize chronic wound treatment.

You can also read: Hydrogels in Drug Delivery: Smart Carriers for Targeted Therapeutics.

Cleragel: A Smart Hydrogel for Inflammation and Infection

Dr. Melissa Krebs, founder of GelSana, is a Colorado School of Mines faculty member. Her research focuses on using biomaterials for tissue regeneration. At Mines, Melissa and her team developed a synthetic polymer that evades the foreign body response while providing anti-inflammatory properties. Because of its charge density, this material repels bacteria—making it ideal for chronic wound dressing applications.

Following the material’s successful performance on animal models and pre-seeding from a Colorado venture funding organization, GelSana began taking shape. Courtesy of GelSana.

Cleragel is a zwitterionic polymer, which differentiates it from other hydrogels on the market. The close repeating positive and negative charges along the polymer chain prevent the adherence of proteins to the hydrogel. Thus, Cleragel’s engineered polymer chains are invisible to the body and repel bacteria. While other hydrogel wound dressings provide moisture to wounds, they lack these bacteria-repellant properties.

You can also read: Zwitterionic Polymers for Advanced Biomedical Applications.

Cleragel directly addresses the issue of inflammation, making it ideal for chronic wound care. Additionally, Cleragel can provide controlled release of therapeutics to the wound area. It is extrudable and elastic, allowing medical practitioners to stretch it over large wounds easily.

Cleragel bridges the gaps between current hydrogel wound dressings and the requirements of chronic wound treatment. Courtesy of GelSana.

Preparing for Clinical Launch

In an interview with Plastics Engineering, Melissa discussed the current research guiding the future of Cleragel. GelSana has received both grants and investor funding that have supported research and development initiatives. The GelSana team is both preparing for commercialization and continuing research to expand Cleragel’s uses. Applications such as severe burns require coverage over an even larger surface area, which GelSana is continuing to research. Additionally, GelSana is working to embedding various therapeutics into Cleragel for controlled drug delivery products.

Cleragel, a Class I medical device, is GelSana’s first product. Currently, GelSana is in the process of registering Cleragel with the FDA. GelSana expects Cleragel’s clinical launch to take place in early 2026. As a Class I medical device, Cleragel will be available for immediate clinical use upon registration.