Impact Stories
PolyNovo
About this company
PolyNovo is an Australian based company that develops advanced medical technologies. The company’s first commercial product, NovoSorb®, is the world’s first fully synthetic dermal matrix [1] that is used for wound care, like when skin is lost to trauma, surgery or other injuries. It helps the body naturally heal and recover by promoting tissue growth and reducing inflammation.
The key benefit of NovoSorb is that it gradually breaks down and disappears as the body heals, meaning it doesn’t need to be removed surgically. This makes it a patient-friendly solution, especially in cases where traditional wound treatments would require additional procedures – bringing benefits for patients and economic benefits for health systems.
Leveraging synthetic materials, rather than biologic (material produced by a living organism), means there is an absence of foreign sensitising proteins, which can help reduce the risk of rejection caused by bacterial infection [1].
NovoSorb was recently sent to Ukraine in large quantities to help patients affected by the war [2].
Why Pathfinder invested
Our investment team consider PolyNovo to be a growth company; it fits within Pathfinder’s investment theme of healthy living, has a strong social licence to operate and has captured an impressive corner of a growing market. However, they are flagged by our data provider as testing on animals.
Although PolyNovo must carry out animal testing, when required by regulation, to get a product to market, their Code of Conduct states that they “must uphold ethical, scientific, and clinical standards and comply with all laws and regulations in all research and development activities. Non-clinical (animal) trials must be conducted with the same respect to ethics committee requirements and ensure the Company adheres to the humane treatment of all animals [3]".
While Pathfinder aims to exclude companies that test on animals, in rare circumstances we grant special exceptions. PolyNovo is one of those times. Our Ethics and Investment Committee granted an exception for this company in August 2021 as they acknowledged PolyNovo’s commitment towards solving a difficult challenge: if successful, PolyNovo products will result in much lower future demand for animal sourced surgical products.
Our investment team actively engaged with PolyNovo to understand if it was their intention for NovoSorb to replace the need for similar products tested on animals. Confirmation from them on this supported our analysis that this company was a sound investment despite it involving an activity that’s normally excluded by us (animal testing for both cosmetic and medical purposes).
What positive impact is this company is making?
Reducing the need for animal-based products:
Research and clinical trials suggest that NovoSorb could replace the need for animal-based incumbent products for three reasons:
1. Less risk of adverse reactions (like infection).
2. Increased clinical efficiency.
3. Lower cost.
Better patient outcomes globally:
Burns and chronic wounds are significant healthcare challenges worldwide and affect millions of people each year. PolyNovo are contributing to the development of medical devices that improve patient outcomes, reduce recovery time, and save lives. This is especially significant in treating severe burns and wounds where traditional treatments often fall short. And, because NovoSorb technology is simple and synthetic it is easy to manufacture compared to alternatives. This means it has the potential to expand into more countries, including underserved areas with limited healthcare resources, bringing life-saving treatments to a wider patient base globally.
Helping victims of war:
In February 2024 PolyNovo received their largest order to date, to send product to the Ukraine to treat patients in the thousands. Chairman, David Williams said:
“Our recent support of countries in conflict zones has attracted interest from charities and foreign governments to financially assist in the provision of life saving devices like NovoSorb. In addition to product, Professor Marcus Wagstaff recently ran a training session for circa 30 Ukrainian surgeons on behalf of the British Orthopaedic Association. This session was taped and translated so the message can be widely shared.”
Environment:
NovoSorb is biodegradable, and the company's focus on sustainability extends to their manufacturing plants and supply chain. They measure their carbon emissions and continue reducing their operations' carbon footprint (e.g. using solar panels and increasing freight by sea) [4].
Additionally, PolyNovo also have polices on bioethics, diversity and modern slavery and support a number of charitable and community-based programmes.
Funds invested in PolyNovo
KiwiSaver: Growth, Balanced and Conservative Funds
Managed Funds: Ethical Growth Fund, Ethical Trans-Tasman Fund
Sources and further reading:
2. PolyNovo's largest Single order to date
Other sources (warning content may be graphic):
NovoSorb Clinical Publication 2024
Medical Device Network Excellence Awards 2023 and Case Study