A LEADING regenerative medicine company in York which has developed a way of helping skin cancer patients is looking to forge transatlantic links on a trade mission to the US.

Neotherix Ltd, at the Research Centre at York Science Park, wants to globally market EktoTherix, its dressing used to heal surgical wounds after skin cancer operations.

A patch of EktoTherix applied to the post-operative wound acts as “scaffolding” for the fissure to be closed by the patient’s own skin cells, avoiding the need for grafting skin tissue from elsewhere on the patient and cutting down on healing time.

This will be the second time key directors of Neotherix have visited the US. Last month they travelled to a trade mission in San Francisco. This time they head for New Jersey to meet venture capitalists and corporate ventures in a three-day get-together from Monday organised by the Investing in Health programme, led by business and financial advisers Grant Thornton.

Already Neotherix has received half funding for the £345,000 project from the Technology Strategy Board; and last year its successful pitch, Dragon’s Den-style, at Venturefest Yorkshire, earned the company £5,000 worth of consultancy vouchers.

The Investing in Health programme, which forms part of Yorkshire Forward’s Understanding Finance for Business programmes, has identified Neotherix’s work as having “real potential” in a world market estimated as being worth £360 million per year.

There are hopes that the mission, which will include four Yorkshire companies, will lead to potential investment, sales, licensing opportunities or even future acquisitions for the promising companies taking part.

As well as one-to-one meetings with corporate ventures, a reception will be held to facilitate networking between the other Yorkshire companies and investors and venture capitalists.

Lisa Ward, manager of the Investing in Health programme, said: “As part of our continued support for attracting and facilitating finance in the regional healthcare sector, we are widening our horizons by introducing selected companies to US corporate and venture capital.

“The UK is a world leader in regenerative medicine and Neotherix is at the forefront of development so we’re confident that the company will be of interest to some of the corporate ventures in the US who have an appetite for investment.”

Mike Raxworthy, chief executive of Neotherix, said: “The first US visit yielding a promising lead which we are following up now and we are hopeful that we find investment and corporate partners when we get to New Jersey.”