Baltimore medical device startup ReGelTec is conducting a trial on patients and reporting new $3.75 million in funding as it develops a treatment for chronic low back pain.

It’s a couple notes of 2020 progress from the Camden Yards-based startup, which is helmed by longtime medtech executive Bill Niland and execs who led Baltimore startup Harpoon Medical to $100 million-plus acquisition by Edwards Lifesciences. (Along with having experience in building medical device companies, Niland also has experience with back pain, having had three degenerated discs and multiple procedures over the years.) The technology was invented by Dr. Anthony Lowman, and Niland determined it was at a point where it was ready for the clinic.

As with any medical technology, however, getting to that point will require showing proof of its safety and effectiveness. ReGelTec is currently conducting an early feasibility study in Barranquilla, Colombia. This involves treating patients with degenerative disc disease with the company’s hydrogel. Called HYDRAFIL, the gel is injected into the nucleus of a disc, then cools to form an implant. This is designed to ease pain, and restore parts of the disc that were lost.

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