Nurami Medical and the EIC Accelerator: A Sutureless Brain Patch

Nurami Medical, founded in Haifa and led by co-founder and chief executive Nora Nseir, makes fully synthetic patches from electrospun nanofibres to repair the dura mater, the membrane that holds cerebrospinal fluid around the brain and spinal cord, after neurosurgery. Its EIC Accelerator project receives an EU contribution of €2,495,624 and runs from December 2024 to September 2026, according to CORDIS. It funds ArtiFix, an adhesive patch meant to seal the dura watertight without sutures while scaffolding tissue regrowth. When the award was announced in July 2024, Nurami said the grant would fund "preliminary clinical trials of ArtiFix and the beginning of the planned pivotal trials", according to Nurami Medical.

The first report describes completed preclinical studies: in a six-week dog study against the market product DuraGen Plus, there were no deaths, cerebrospinal fluid leaks or major adverse events, and a rabbit study showed dura regeneration closer to native tissue at 13 weeks, according to CORDIS. The FDA agreed to a first-in-human study run only in Europe, at one Czech and two Polish sites. In September 2026 Nurami completed enrolment in that study, with follow-up ongoing, according to Nurami Medical. A 228-patient pivotal study, NEOFIX, was registered in August 2026 with a planned start in January 2027, according to ClinicalTrials.gov.

Where Nurami Medical Stands Now

Nurami's first product, ArtiFascia, a synthetic dural graft that is sutured in place, received FDA 510(k) clearance in August 2023, according to the FDA database, after a 92-patient trial in five countries. Preliminary US sales of ArtiFascia had begun by November 2025, according to Nurami Medical. The EIC Fund led Nurami's Series B in June 2025, part of a financing "expected to result in $30 million", according to Oppenheimer, its financial adviser. As a private Israeli company its accounts are not public.

The Technology: A Patch That Sticks to Wet Tissue

After brain or spine surgery, surgeons close the dura with sutures, grafts and sealants, and leaks still occur in 4% to 32% of cases depending on the site, the EIC report says. ArtiFix is a 0.3-millimetre electrospun patch whose surface chemistry is activated on site so it adheres to wet tissue. In the lab it withstood more than ten times normal intracranial pressure. Nurami says it would replace two products, a patch and a sealant, and cut procedure costs by about €280 per surgery; those are company estimates.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project ends on 30 September 2026. Preclinical work and the first-in-human study are done or enrolled, which matches the first half of the promise. The pivotal trial was meant to begin within the grant; its registered start is January 2027. The first-in-human study record on ClinicalTrials.gov has not been updated since August 2025 and still says "not yet recruiting".

1. Preclinical safety and efficacyDeliveredDog and rabbit studies.
2. First-in-human studyEnrolledSeptember 2026.
3. Human resultsPendingFollow-up ongoing.
4. Pivotal trial begunRegisteredStarts 2027.

The Money

The EIC delivered both halves of its blended finance: the grant and an equity investment through the Series B it led. The size of the EIC Fund's stake was not disclosed. The Series B funds ArtiFix trials and production scale-up for ArtiFascia.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC report says cerebrospinal fluid leaks cost about €11,000 per affected patient. Nurami ran its first-in-human study in Czech and Polish hospitals, so the clinical evidence for ArtiFix is being generated in the EU, while its first product sells in the US.

The Verdict

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