ECI Biotech Inc. signed a licensing and manufacturing agreement with Systagenix Wound Management Inc.
Worcester, Mass.-based ECI Biotech makes protein-based, point-of-care bacterial sensors and will collaborate with Quincy, Mass.-based Systagenix to develop a diagnostic technology for treating chronic wounds.
The companies said the resulting product will enable early infection detection and cheaper care by reducing unnecessary blanket treatments.
"This cutting-edge new technology will provide the clinical community with a range of breakthrough medical devices that they need to treat and heal complex wounds," Systagenix CEO Steve Atkinson said in prepared remarks.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ECI Biotech said the deal will create 12 new jobs in the company, all of which will be based in Worcester.
Systagenix is the former wound-care business of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon and established its North American headquarters in Quincy, Mass. last October. Atkinson told MassDevice that the move was motivated by the available partner technologies and talent in the region.