Synthetic plateletlike particles to address post-traumatic brain injury coagulopathy and neuroinflammatory pathology

The Defense Health Agency awarded North Carolina State University $3.5 million on June 1, 2026, under the Military Medical Research and Development program (CFDA 12.420) to develop synthetic platelet-like particles (PLPs) designed to address post-traumatic brain injury coagulopathy and neuroinflammatory pathology through performance ending May 31, 2030, with work conducted in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The project centers on SymClot, a novel intravenous PLP platform technology targeting bleeding sites to enhance clot formation and reduce blood loss in trauma patients. North Carolina State University coordinates the research with two sub-recipients delivering specialized functions. SelSym Biotech Inc., a woman-owned small business, provides translational collaboration and hands-on consultation on scalable manufacturing and packaging of PLPs. SelSym coordinates with its established contract manufacturing and packaging partners—Celltheon, nanoComposix, and SOLUtion Medical—to scale up antibody and hydrogel production in support of GLP toxicology studies, IND submissions, and engineering batch production. SelSym generates potency and quality reports to support product design decisions for large-scale manufacturing and facilitate rapid, simple delivery of PLPs to injured warfighters and civilians in austere, field, and clinical settings. HonorHealth, a nonprofit hospital organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona, serves as the second sub-recipient, contributing clinical expertise and hospital-based research infrastructure to the project.