Yara Al Takrouri elevator pitch May 2026

[00:00:01][music] Why are dental sutures so painful? You can't eat, drink, or speak without feeling pain and discomfort. Countless procedures require sutures such as wisdom teeth removal, which has 10 million cases per year in the US alone.

[00:00:22]Sutures act as wicking agents for bacteria, trap food debris, and irritate the oral mucosal tissue. And it doesn't end there. Some sutures require a removal procedure which is no fun for the patient and adds the to the clinician's chair time. We have the solution. Adel Aura, an albuminbased antimicrobial biompatible hydrogel designed to replace traditional oral sutures. Unlike existing adhesives, Adhill Aura doesn't struggle in high moisture environments since it's specifically engineered to adhere to the wet surfaces of the mouth. We have three key advantages. First of all, bio resorbability through which the hydrogel naturally breaks down as the tissue heals. This means no invasive follow-up procedure. Then antimicrobial action functionalized with antimicrobial nano particles. It prevents bacterial conalization and infection. Lastly, superior barrier function. It forms a continuous seal that prevents food debris from getting stuck and localized contamination. Adhill Ora moves away from mechanical fixiation towards biological integration. We have applied for a patent and have earned the backing of UKRI with a 1.8 million pound grant.

[00:01:39]We are now seeking 1.5 million pounds to complete our pre-clinical trials.

[00:01:44]Together we can transform dental recovery from a challenge to a triumph for millions of patients everywhere.

[00:01:51]Thank you.

[00:01:59]Has the technology been applied? Um, so you want to apply the technology in oral health. Has it been applied elsewhere or are there opportunities to to do so?

[00:02:11]>> So my colleague before she we're working on the same basic matrix. So she's applying it to myioardial infraction.

[00:02:17]Obviously the formulation will be slightly different. Um we are aiming to functionalize it with antimicrobials on the market. There's no hydrogel designed to replace sutures. Um so in the dental uh environment we don't have a direct competitor.

[00:02:37]>> Thanks. Um how durable is this hydrogel?

[00:02:40]You know when you take into account saliva flow, brushing, eating?

[00:02:44]>> Yeah. Um the formulation of this hydrogel is what makes it adhere really well because we are using bovine serum albamin as our basis um but we're then meth adding a methacrylate group and that will react via theoline chemistry.

[00:02:59]So we'll actually form a coalent bond with our actual um tissue and we have been studying um right now we are doing testing on the durability and we're placing it in physiological conditions and it does last for at least 2 weeks and we can obviously tune it because it is a recipe made up of different ingredients. So we can tune it to um the different um dental procedures that we require it for.

[00:03:26]>> [applause]