Press Releases

BondTrue Awarded Competitive Grant from the National Science Foundation

Small Business Innovation Research Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D

BALTIMORE, Md., March 30, 2021 – BondTrue, LLC (BondTrue) has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $256,000 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on the BondTrue surgical closure device.

BondTrue is a patented, hand-held, disposable device that standardizes the process of surgical closure, which aims to decrease the prevalence of surgical site infections through reduced wound drainage. Additional benefits for improved surgical closure are cost savings to hospitals, surgeon time reallocated to highest skilled tasks and increased patient satisfaction.

“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, division director of the division of industrial innovation and partnerships, NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”

“The NSF funding and support takes BondTrue through the critical next phase of product development,” said Aimee Martin, CEO. “During this phase, our team will scale up testing, moving this innovative surgical device toward market availability. The goal of BondTrue is to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, optimize surgical team performance and reduce surgical site infections, which cost the US $3.3 billion annually.”

Receipt of this Phase I SBIR award also means that BondTrue is eligible to apply for a Phase II award (up to $1 million). Small businesses with Phase II funding are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.

Startups or entrepreneurs who submit a three-page Project Pitch will know within one month if they meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/

About the National Science Foundation's Small Business Programs

America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.

About BondTrue, LLC

Medical device design and development company. Developed by a surgeon, the BondTrue device standardizes surgical closure for better wound healing. Unlike other closure techniques, BondTrue knows where the incision was made so it may precisely realign the wound back together, reducing wound complications while saving time and costs. https://www.bondtrue.com/

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Media Contact

Aimee Martin, CEO

301-529-3787

bondtrue1@gmail.com

BondTrue Receives Phase II Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Award

Towson, Md., February 20, 2018—BondTrue LLC, a medical device company, announces the receipt of a Phase II Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) award from the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, a unit of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. The joint grant, worth $100,000, will be used for continuing development and research on the company’s patented device (#9,408,672), which aims to automate the process of surgical incisions and closures.

The MIPS program supports the development and commercialization of products and processes in Maryland through industry/university research partnerships. MIPS provides funds, matched by participating companies, to fund the research.

After successfully completing Phase I, BondTrue plans to refine developed prototype designs, which will be used in research and testing.

The research will be conducted in the laboratory of Hugh Bruck, professor, director of graduate studies and associate chair of academic affairs in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland.

"The Phase II MIPS award will enable us to continue our momentum in the development of BondTrue for research and market introduction. We are excited about the progress we have made as a team with Hugh Bruck and his researchers,” said Dr. David Zachary Martin, co-founder and chief medical officer for BondTrue and a local plastic surgeon. "Using the newest technology, including state-of-the-art 3-D printers at the University of Maryland, has greatly advanced our prototype design, enabling us to accelerate the commercialization process.”

About BondTrue:

BondTrue is a device designed to automate the process of surgical incisions and closures. The goals of BondTrue are to:

Completely standardize the beginning and ending portions of procedures that most operations have in common.
Ensure a clean rapid incision.
Perfectly align and evert skin closure, which will enhance post-operative healing and decrease post-operative infection rates by decreasing postoperative drainage and poor healing that can be attributed to beveled incisions or poorly aligned closures.
Decrease wound closure time substantially, simultaneously decreasing time in the operating room and under anesthesia.
Be utilized in telesurgery/robotics.

Millions of procedures are performed each year that could benefit from this technology, including but not limited to: total joint replacement, abdominal surgery, cardiac surgery, colectomy, breast surgery and spine surgery.

BondTrue is a privately held medical device design and development company.

Statements herein relating to future financial or business performance, conditions or strategies and other financial and business matters, including expectations regarding future revenues and operating expenses, are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate, "assume," "plan," "outlook," "prospect," and variations of such words and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may," or similar expressions. BondTrue cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical experience: risks relating to the early stage of product candidates under development; risks relating to BondTrue's ability to identify and enter into agreements with potential collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; dependence on third parties; future capital needs; and risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of BondTrue's proposed product candidates (such as marketing, regulatory, patent, product liability, supply, competition and other risks). BondTrue's reports identify additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and BondTrue assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE BondTrue, LLC

BondTrue.com

Aimee Martin

CEO

(301) 529-3787

BondTrue Receives Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Award

Towson, Md., March 1, 2017—BondTrue LLC, a medical device company, announces the receipt of a Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) award from the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, a unit of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. The joint grant, worth $100,000, will be used for continuing research on the company’s patented device (#9,408,672), which automates the process of surgical incisions and closures.

The MIPS program supports the development and commercialization of products and processes in Maryland through industry/university research partnerships. MIPS provides matching funds, matched by participating companies, to pay for the university research.

Through the grant, BondTrue plans to design and develop an improved prototype, which will be used for multiple purposes, including animal trials, animation development and presentations.

"We are very pleased with this award as it allows the continuation of important research on the BondTrue medical device," said Dr. David Zachary Martin, co-founder and chief medical officer for BondTrue and a local plastic surgeon. "This project will enable us to take the next step in commercializing the device. The MIPS program provides a great opportunity to advance collaborative projects in Maryland."

In standard operations performed today, surgical procedures begin and end in the same way: an incision is made with a scalpel; invasive procedure is performed; and the wound is brought together and hand-stitched with sutures or stapled together.

These advances, however, still require the surgeon to perform a clean and consistent incision and deliberately place each suture precisely to approximate the wound. This is done to the best of his or her ability with varying degrees of quality. Precision can be time-consuming. Poorly incised wounds and inadequately approximated wounds can result in delayed wound healing, poor

scarring, post-operative infections and higher healthcare costs.

BondTrue is a device designed to automate the process of surgical incisions and closures. BondTrue:

Completely standardizes the beginning and ending portions of procedures that most operations have in common.
Ensures a clean rapid incision.
Perfectly aligns and everts skin closure, which will enhance post-operative healing and decrease post-operative infection rates by decreasing postoperative drainage and poor healing that can be attributed to beveled incisions or poorly aligned closures.
Decreases wound closure time substantially, simultaneously decreasing time in the operating room and under anesthesia.
May be utilized in telesurgery/robotics.

Millions of procedures are performed each year that could benefit from this Technology, including but not limited to: appendectomy, hysterectomy, total joint replacement, abdominal surgery, cardiac surgery, colectomy, breast surgery and spine surgery.

BondTrue is a privately-held medical device design and development company.

Statements herein relating to future financial or business performance, conditions or strategies and other financial and business matters, including expectations regarding future revenues and operating expenses, are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "assume," "plan," "outlook," "prospect," and variations of such words and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may," or similar expressions. BondTrue cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical experience: risks relating to the early stage of product candidates under development; risks relating to BondTrue's ability to identify and enter into agreements with potential collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; dependence on third parties; future capital needs; and risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of BondTrue proposed product candidates (such as marketing, regulatory, patent, product liability, supply, competition and other risks). BondTrue's reports identify additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and BondTrue assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.