GATT Technologies and the EIC Accelerator: A Surgical Patch for J&J
Surgeons need to stop bleeding and seal tissue quickly during operations on organs such as the liver. GATT Technologies, a Dutch company, developed GATT-Patch, a sealing patch that the EIC award described as "one patch stops all" surgical bleeding and organ leakage. In October 2021 the EIC selected its project to scale up production of the patch.
No GATT-OPSA grant project appears in the EU's CORDIS database. In a November 2023 release, Johnson & Johnson said: "In May 2022, Ethicon acquired GATT Technologies B.V., a Netherlands-based company". By 1 January 2023 GATT Technologies B.V. was listed as a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in the US group's annual report, and its website now redirects to Johnson & Johnson MedTech. The price has not been published.
Company file
- Legal entity
- GATT Technologies B.V., Netherlands
- Product
- GATT-Patch surgical sealing patch
- Trials
- NCT04819945, NCT05385952, NCT05900037, all completed
- Owner
- Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon), since May 2022
- Website
- Redirects to J&J MedTech
- EIC award
- GATT-OPSA, blended finance; no project on CORDIS
Where GATT Technologies Stands Today
GATT Technologies B.V. appears in Johnson & Johnson's list of subsidiaries as of 1 January 2023 and in every annual report since, most recently the 2026 filing. The company's domain, gatt-tech.com, forwards to a J&J MedTech page. The patch itself is now sold by Ethicon as ETHIZIA: J&J announced its CE mark in November 2023, with an EMEA launch expected in the first quarter of 2024, and said that in 80% of clinical trial patients it "stopped bleeding in 30 seconds, an average of six times faster than the leading Fibrin Sealant Patch". Neither J&J's filings nor the sources we could access give the price or timing of the deal.
The EU record
What the public record holds on the EIC award
EIC grant projects with GATT as coordinator on CORDIS, and years in which J&J lists GATT Technologies B.V. as a subsidiary in its annual reports (2023 to 2026).
CORDIS Horizon Europe open data; Johnson & Johnson Form 10-K exhibits.
The Product: A Patch Against Bleeding
GATT-Patch is applied to bleeding or leaking tissue during surgery. On ClinicalTrials.gov, GATT sponsored three completed trials: a 56-patient study in open liver surgery from April 2021, a 132-patient comparison with the sealant TachoSil in liver surgery from August 2022, and a 53-patient comparison with Surgicel in minimally invasive liver and gallbladder surgery from October 2023, both after it had joined J&J.
The evidence
GATT-Patch trials on ClinicalTrials.gov
Enrolment in the three completed trials sponsored by GATT Technologies.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04819945, NCT05385952, NCT05900037.
"Upscaling GATT-Patch production: One-Patch-Stops-All (OPSA) surgical bleeding and organ leakages."
GATT-OPSA award description, EICWhat the EIC Project Promised, and What the Record Shows
The award was for scaling up production of GATT-Patch, as blended finance. We searched the CORDIS Horizon Europe data and found no project with GATT Technologies as coordinator. GATT became part of Johnson & Johnson in May 2022, seven months after the selection; whether a grant agreement was ever signed is not public.
- A signed EIC projectNot shownNot on CORDIS.
- Clinical evidenceDeliveredThree completed trials.
- Scaled productionUnknownNow inside J&J.
- A strategic ownerDeliveredJohnson & Johnson.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The record
From EIC award to Johnson & Johnson subsidiary
GATT Technologies was selected by the EIC in late 2021 and appears among Johnson & Johnson's subsidiaries by January 2023; no EIC grant project is on CORDIS.
- Apr 2021First liver studyGATT-Patch in open liver surgery, 56 patients
- Oct 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offGATT-OPSA: upscaling production of GATT-Patch
- May 2022Bought by EthiconJohnson & Johnson's surgical unit acquires GATTJ&J
- Aug 2022Comparative trialGATT-Patch versus TachoSil in liver surgery, 132 patients
- Oct 2023Minimally invasive trialGATT-Patch versus Surgicel, 53 patients
- Nov 2023CE mark as ETHIZIAEthicon announces the patch; EMEA launch planned Q1 2024
- 2026Websitegatt-tech.com redirects to J&J MedTech
ClinicalTrials.gov and Johnson & Johnson SEC filings.
The Money
We found no EIC Fund investment, no disclosed acquisition price and no record of EIC grant payments. GATT's earlier investors and funding were not accessible for this article.
What cannot be checked
What J&J paid for GATT, whether any EIC money was paid, and ETHIZIA's sales are not public in the sources we used.
Why Europe Should Care
An EIC selection is meant to help a European start-up scale. Here the start-up was bought by a US healthcare group, on terms that have not been published. For the EU, the award leaves no public trace, and the product's European future is in J&J's hands.
What the project promised
Scaled-up production of a patch that stops surgical bleeding and organ leaks.
What the record shows
Three completed trials and an acquisition by Johnson & Johnson; no EIC project on record.
The Verdict
Selected, then sold
Johnson & Johnson bought GATT Technologies within about a year of the EIC selection, and its reasons are not public. But the EIC award itself has no public record, and nothing shows whether EU money played any part.
GATT Technologies and Johnson & Johnson have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on SEC filings, EU data and the trial registry, linked throughout.
Industry
HealthMedical devices
- Focus
- Surgical devices
- Technologies
- Biomaterials
- Keywords
- Haemostatic patches
- Surgical bleeding
- Liver surgery
- Organ leakage