Our Mission
Transform wound healing with breakthrough biomaterials to improve patients’ quality of life.
GelSana was founded in 2020 by Melissa Krebs, Ph.D. as an associate professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Krebs recognized a huge unmet need in wound care and intentionally designed a treatment to address it.
“We spend more on chronic wound care in the US than the five most costly cancers combined. Why? I just haven’t been able to let it go. There must be a better way.”
The fundamental problem: no treatment currently addresses a major underlying mechanism that impedes healing – Excess Sustained Inflammation.
Dr. Krebs’ research lab investigated materials that would not contribute to inflammation, which led them to zwitterionic polymers that demonstrated the ability to evade foreign body response entirely. Early animal studies in impaired wounds demonstrated extremely successful healing outcomes and led Dr. Krebs to found GelSana to bring these promising biomaterials to the clinic with support from a seed investment by Innosphere Ventures. CleraFlex, GelSana’s first product, is the only wound care solution that has the potential to address all major challenges of the wound healing cascade by supporting the natural healing process with reduced inflammation, repelling bacteria, balancing moisture, and providing a protective barrier, all in a single, shelf-stable wound dressing.
Our Team
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Melissa Krebs, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO
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Donald Gregg, MBA
Chief Commercial Officer
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Adam Rocker, Ph.D.
Director R&D
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Bikram Adhikari, Ph.D.
Scientist I
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Vicki Abbas BSN, RN
Executive Director Clinical Operations
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Ania Camplin, CPA
Fractional CFO
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Mike Freeman
Board Member CE, Innosphere Ventures
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Diana Verrilli
Board Member General Manager, Navista
Clinical Advisors
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John James, M.D.
General, Trauma, and Wound Surgeon Mountain View Surgical Associates
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David Armstrong, Ph.D., DPM
Professor of Surgery University of Southern California
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Lisa Gould, Ph.D., M.D.
Wound Care and Plastic Surgery South Shore Health Hospital
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