Oxford lab expansion supports nerve repair research

Newrotex, the Oxford-based clinical-stage biotech developing silk-based medical devices for nerve repair, has taken 1,680 ft² (156 m²) of laboratory and office space at The Oxford Trust’s Wood Centre for Innovation in Headington. The move comes as the company enters a critical phase of clinical and operational scale-up, preparing its SilkAxons® device for broader clinical trials and eventual market launch.

Founded by trauma surgeon Dr Alex Woods and Professor Fritz Vollrath from the University of Oxford, Newrotex is addressing a significant unmet need in reconstructive surgery. Its implantable silk scaffolds, produced under controlled GMP conditions using silk from Golden Orb Weaver spiders, act as regenerative guides, enabling severed nerves to reconnect across gaps up to 10 cm - a length not currently achievable with traditional autografts. This off-the-shelf approach aims to eliminate the need for donor nerve harvest, reducing surgical time, patient morbidity, and costs.

Each year, roughly 1.5 million patients worldwide undergo peripheral nerve injury surgery. Newrotex’s technology could establish a new standard of care for patients recovering from trauma or undergoing reconstruction after cancer surgeries, such as mastectomy or prostatectomy. Preliminary data from first-in-human studies, which began in August 2025, indicate encouraging safety and performance signals, with primary outcome completion expected in February 2026. Subject to successful results, the company plans multinational pivotal studies to support US and UK regulatory submissions.

The new Wood Centre facilities will enable Newrotex to expand its team, strengthen manufacturing and quality systems, and continue building toward commercial launch. Steve Burgess, CEO of The Oxford Trust, said: “Newrotex’s work in nerve regeneration exemplifies the pioneering science we aim to support. The combination of high-quality lab facilities and a collaborative innovation community will allow them to accelerate growth and bring transformative treatments closer to patients.”

“The new lab space gives us the infrastructure to advance our clinical studies and bring nerve repair treatments closer to patients,” said Dr Alex Woods, founder and VEO of Newrotex.

Newrotex joins a thriving community of science and technology companies at the Wood Centre, including DJS Antibodies, Helio Display Materials, and PicturaBio. The Oxford Trust is also investing £7 million in its new Aspen Building, due for completion in July 2026, which will provide flexible, high-quality laboratory and technical space for start-ups and scale-ups across Oxford’s innovation ecosystem.

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