Fraunhofer spin-off Matrihealth becomes its own company

After six years of research, the founders want to use Matrihealth to produce medicine, food and cosmetics containing elastin. They are currently looking for investors.

Marco Götze, Tobias Hedtke, Christian Schmelzer and Dirk Schuster spent six years researching the properties of the protein elastin before launching their start-up project under the name "Matriheal" at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS) in 2020. The four researchers are now launching an independent company under the name "Matrihealth". The company is based in Halle an der Saale.

During their research, the founders have developed a method with which they can obtain natural elastin inexpensively and convert it into a water-soluble compound. This allows the substance to be used on an industrial scale. Elastin is a protein that is found in skin tissue, blood vessels and organs and makes them elastic. However, the body cannot reproduce elastin, which can disrupt wound healing and cause wrinkles in old age. The protein is therefore used in medical and cosmetic products.

"After six years of research, we are delighted to have achieved our goal of becoming a spin-off," says co-founder Tobias Hedtke. "We see excellent opportunities to establish ourselves with our innovative and sustainable products in the growing market for elastin-based medical and cosmetic products." Matrihealth wants to start by producing and selling elastin products for the medical, food and cosmetics sectors. The founders are currently looking for investors to set up an initial production facility.