KLISBio and the EIC Accelerator: Silk to Repair Damaged Nerves

Silk Biomaterials, now operating as KLISBio and based in Bresso near Milan, makes SILKBridge, a nerve guide made from silk fibroin, the protein of silkworm silk, that bridges a gap in a damaged peripheral nerve and supports the nerve as it regrows. The company was founded by Antonio Alessandrino, Giuliano Freddi, Gabriele Grecchi and Lorenzo Sala, according to KLISBio. The EIC Accelerator granted €2,495,500 towards a total cost of €3,565,000 for its project, which ran from July 2024 to June 2026 and is listed in CORDIS under the name KLISBIO SRL, according to CORDIS. The project summary says half of nerve repair procedures are unsuccessful and 30% of patients are left with permanent disability.

The project's report says KLISBio developed a quality management system in line with the ISO 13485 medical device standard, scaled up and partly automated manufacturing, refined the design, tested new sizes and advanced "preparations for clinical trials" with protocol development under way, according to CORDIS. The only human study of SILKBridge on ClinicalTrials.gov, a first-in-human study of digital nerve repair sponsored by Silk Biomaterials, started in 2019 and enrolled four patients. No new trial has been registered.

Where KLISBio Stands Now

KLISBio announced the €2.5 million EIC grant as non-dilutive funding to "propel growth in Europe", and has published mid-term outcomes from its first-in-human study. Its website presents SILKBridge's Tri-Layer design and the preclinical and clinical evidence, and lists appearances at hand surgery and microsurgery congresses. It has not announced regulatory approval, a new trial or a funding round, and its accounts were not accessible in free sources.

The Technology: A Silk Bridge for Nerves

When a nerve is cut and the ends cannot be joined, surgeons need a guide to bridge the gap. SILKBridge's wall combines two electrospun silk layers with a textile layer, which the company says resists compression, lets cells infiltrate and integrates with the native nerve without immune rejection or fibrosis. Preclinical studies of the design have been published in Biomaterials Science and Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, according to KLISBio.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The EIC funding was to take SILKBridge towards market, with manufacturing scale-up and clinical trials. The project closed in June 2026 with the manufacturing and quality groundwork reported done. The clinical trial it prepared has not been registered publicly, and the device is not on sale.

1. Quality management systemDevelopedISO 13485 aligned.
2. Manufacturing scale-upReportedPartial automation.
3. Clinical trialNot registeredProtocol stage.
4. Market approvalNot reachedNot marketed.

The Money

The award was listed as blended finance, but KLISBio described it as €2.5 million of non-dilutive funding, and no EIC Fund investment has been announced. The EU paid 70% of the project's cost. No private round has been disclosed.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The project summary says 4 million people a year suffer traumatic nerve damage, and current repairs often fail. A European silk-based implant that restores function better would help many of them. KLISBio reports a refined design and scaled-up manufacturing; no trial that could supply clinical evidence for approval has been registered.

The Verdict

KLISBio and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.