Healthcare startup Gemstone Biotherapeutics gets Maryland Momentum Fund investment

Baltimore-based Gemstone Therapeutics has received $250,000 in a new investment from the Maryland Momentum Fund.

The investment from the fund, which was created by the University System of Maryland to support startups created by students, faculty, alums and other affiliates, is part of a new funding round for Gemstone, according to the fund.

Gemstone CEO Emily English earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park, and board chairman and noted investor and entrepreneur David Oros received his bachelor’s degree from UMBC.

“As a Maryland alum, I value the connection to and support from the University System as we transition from a preclinical company to a clinical-stage company,” English said.

The company is developing treatments for the dermatology market to enable skin regeneration without scarring, returning all the properties of normal skin, with licensed technology from Johns Hopkins University that was invented by professors Sharon Gerecht, Jeremy Walston and Peter Abadir. English has said the company plans to launch the product for use on excision sites created by dermatology surgeries, such as biopsies and Moh surgeries. (Earlier this year, English talked about her leadership path in an edition of “5 Questions”).

“Gemstone’s platform of technologies is targeting a growing market in a field where advancement has remained largely stagnant for the past few decades,” said Claire Broido Johnson, who began last month as managing director of the Maryland Momentum Fund, in a statement. “In supporting this startup we’re investing in entrepreneurship in Maryland and the future of healthcare.”

The investment adds a Baltimore-based biotech company to the Maryland Momentum Fund’s portfolio, which also includes Zest Tea, NextStep Robotics and PaverGuide among its investments.