Newrotex, incorporated in Oxford in 2019, makes SilkAxons, a nerve guide made of spider silk, designed to bridge gaps in injured peripheral nerves so they can regrow without the need to take a nerve graft from elsewhere in the body. Its chief executive is a former zoologist turned trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, the company says. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's March 2023 cut-off for a grant-only award for "The Oxford Nerve Conduit", described as "a breakthrough silk-based solution for treatment of peripheral nerve injury". As a UK company, its project does not appear in CORDIS, so its budget, goals and reports are not public.
Newrotex has since won rapid approval for a first-in-human trial at The Panama Clinic in Panama City, with the contract research organisation bioaccess managing it, "just two weeks after ethics board submission", according to Newrotex. It then announced that SilkAxons "was successfully implanted into a patient to repair their large nerve gap (10cm)", calling it a world first, according to Newrotex. The trial is not registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, and no results have been published.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Newrotex Limited, company no. 11798939, Oxford
- Location
- Wood Centre for Innovation, Headington
- Product
- SilkAxons spider silk nerve guide
- First trial
- The Panama Clinic, with bioaccess as CRO
- Recognition
- MedTech Innovator Impact Award
- Accounts
- Micro-company, no profit and loss published
- EIC funding
- Grant only
Where Newrotex Stands Now
Newrotex had seven employees on average in the year to July 2026 and net assets of £452,580, according to accounts filed at Companies House. It files micro-company accounts, which show no revenue or profit. It won the MedTech Innovator Impact Award, according to its website, and works from the Wood Centre for Innovation in Oxford. No funding round has been announced since share issues in 2022 and 2023.
"Today has been an emotional day for the Newrotex Team as our first product SilkAxons was successfully implanted into a patient to repair their large nerve gap (10cm)!"
Newrotex, on its first-in-human studyThe Technology: Silk That Guides Nerves
When a nerve is cut and the gap is long, the traditional repair is an autograft, a nerve taken from elsewhere in the patient's body. Newrotex says its spider silk guide supports regrowth over longer distances and is available off the shelf. The first implant bridged a 10 cm gap, which the company says is larger than anything on the market can achieve. One patient does not show whether the nerve will recover function.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The award's title promised a breakthrough silk-based treatment for nerve injury. Newrotex has moved from lab work to a first human implant, which is real progress. But because the project is outside CORDIS, what the EIC paid for, how much, and whether the planned milestones were met cannot be checked.
- Public project recordNoneNot in CORDIS.
- First-in-human implantDelivered10 cm gap, Panama.
- Trial resultsUnverifiedNone published.
- Regulatory approvalNot yetNo filing announced.
The Money
The amount of the EIC grant is not public. Newrotex's net assets have stayed between £330,000 and £470,000 since 2022, small for a medical device company heading into clinical trials. It has not disclosed investors or how it will fund a pivotal study.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
How much Newrotex received and who paid it, what the project was meant to deliver, how many patients the Panama trial has treated and with what outcomes, and how the company is financed are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
Long-gap nerve injuries from accidents and surgery can leave people with permanent disability. A better nerve guide would change treatment. The EIC backed a promising British technology; the lack of a public project record means Europe cannot see what its support achieved.
What the award promised
A breakthrough silk-based solution for peripheral nerve injury.
What the record shows
A first implant in Panama, no published results, and no public EIC project record.
The Verdict
A first step, poorly documented
Newrotex has put its silk nerve guide into a patient. Whether the EIC award delivered what it was meant to cannot be judged from public information.
Newrotex and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
