Silk-Based Vascular and Tissue Grafts

Named commercial participants include Fibrothelium Gmbh, Dialybrid, Tepha Inc and W L Gore & Associates; the dataset identifies 5 companies and 1 startup. Fibrothelium produces natural silk protein solutions, while Dialybrid announced a first-in-human Silkothane arteriovenous graft implant in September 2026. The patent-holder list also includes Tepha Inc and W L Gore & Associates.

Fibrothelium Gmbh is the startup specifically identified in the dataset. Founded in 2017, the Germany-based company produces natural silk protein solutions and is associated with research combining silk fibroin and elastin-like recombinamers in small-diameter vascular grafts. The available information does not establish comparative performance or commercial readiness, so it supports identifying the company, not ranking its prospects.

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology leads the named organizations with 7 documents in the listed window, followed by the University of California with 6 and Soochow University with 4. Other active groups include Japan National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Monash University and Deakin University. Their work spans vascular graft coatings, bilayer scaffolds, functionalized fibroin and mechanical design.

The mapped funding data reports 3 rounds totaling $539.2 million, but the entries name Harvard University and the University of New South Wales rather than dedicated graft companies. They should not be treated as sector-specific investment. The dataset records no grants for this topic since 2020, so the reported round total is not a reliable measure of funding directed specifically to silk graft development.

The latest dated entry is a $500 million Harvard University round recorded in October 2025. Other entries are a $39 million Harvard University private equity round in June 2025 and a $200,000 University of New South Wales seed round in May 2025. These records are not identified as dedicated silk-graft funding, so they should be interpreted cautiously.

The listed patent holders each have 1 patent: Yale University, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Tepha Inc, UCL Business Plc, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics Inc. and W L Gore & Associates. Patent activity is not growing in the latest comparison: 5 patents appear in the 24-month window, with a 75% decline against the previous 12 months.

In September 2026, Dialybrid announced the first-in-human implant of its Silkothane arteriovenous graft, and a publication described a heparin-ornamented polycaprolactone-silk fibroin conduit. In August 2026, Zhengzhou University reported a mechanically interlocked silk-based hydrogel and ePTFE graft. These efforts target clinical access, blood compatibility and improved mechanical performance.

The main documented application is arterial and peripheral vascular repair, with 40 documents. Other areas include bone and cartilage repair with 8 documents, hemodialysis vascular access and nerve repair with 2 each, and tendon and ligament repair with 1. These counts indicate research activity across vascular and nonvascular tissue repair, not the number of approved products.

The United States leads the country breakdown with 120 documents and a 35% share, followed by China with 63 and Japan with 44. India has 38 and Germany 35. The distribution shows research activity across multiple regions, with the United States, China and Japan the largest contributors in the listed data.

The approaches include electrospun fiber scaffolds, porous solid scaffolds, hydrogels and injectable matrices, and composite or hybrid grafts. Fibers and porous solids provide scaffold structures for tissue interaction; hydrogels can conform to defects but may lack load-bearing strength. Hybrids combine silk with polymers or biological cues to tune performance, at the cost of added interface and degradation complexity. Woven and knitted conduits are another textile-based design route.