Brain Shield: Rapid Treatment to Stop the Long-Term Effects of Head Trauma

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has impacted over 417,000 service members since 2000, significantly degrading operational effectiveness and costing the Department of Defense (DoD) $76.5 billion annually. Despite annual Air Force investments exceeding $50M in TBI research, no field-deployable neuroregenerative treatment exists. Current interventions are limited to symptom management, leaving service members vulnerable to chronic neurodegeneration, PTSD susceptibility, and reduced operational performance. StellarNotch’s Neural EV Regenerative Therapy (NEV-RT) presents a first-in-class, field-deployable, intranasal treatment utilizing extracellular vesicles (EVs) to deliver neuroprotective and regenerative cargo directly to the brain, bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This lyophilized EV-based therapy ensures stability in austere environments, allowing immediate administration at the point of injury. Unlike current approaches, NEV-RT actively repairs neural damage, reduces inflammation, and mitigates cognitive decline. Phase II will focus on optimizing EV cargo loading, ensuring formulation stability, and validating therapeutic efficacy through in vitro testing. The work will establish a scalable, reproducible bioprocess for military and civilian applications. By accelerating cognitive recovery and reducing disability separations, StellarNotch’s solution enhances warfighter resilience, ensuring sustained mission readiness in future combat operations.