Brooklyn company launches life-saving gel nationwide: 'Control bleeding almost instantly'

BROOKLYN - A revolutionary gel that can stop bleeding instantly is being made inside a sterile lab in Brooklyn — and it’s about to go nationwide. 

A breakthrough born in Brooklyn: The story of TraumaGel

What we know:

Called TraumaGel, the plant-based product was first discovered by a teenager and could soon transform how EMTs and hospitals respond to trauma. 

But for now, families waiting for an at-home version will have to hold on just a bit longer.

How it works: The gel that stops bleeding on contact

Inside Cresilon Inc.’s ultra-sterile facility at Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, every syringe of TraumaGel is produced from start to finish. This plant-based gel — with the consistency of hummus — is designed to stop bleeding almost instantly. When applied to a moderate or severe wound, it holds pressure from both sides using long polymer chains, creating a seal that stops the bleed and gives responders critical time.

"The polymer chains in here are long. They’re almost on a millimeter scale. And so that means that it’s only a couple atoms wide, but very, very long chains that can hold from either side of the wound and maintain that pressure," said Cresilon Inc. co-founder Joe Landolina.

Discovered by a teen in his grandfather’s lab

The backstory:

Before it was FDA-approved or mass-produced, TraumaGel began in a much humbler lab — a makeshift setup in a Hudson Valley vineyard. Joe Landolina was just a Brooklyn teenager experimenting with algae and biomaterials when he created a sticky compound that bonded with skin and wouldn’t let go. That early discovery sparked his passion for biotech, and by age 17, he was studying at NYU and preparing for something bigger.

"I was trying to extract polymers out of algae for something else, as you do as a 17-year-old, and I noticed that this material I made would stick to skin, and it wouldn’t let go until I wanted it to," he said.

From Vetigel to TraumaGel

Landolina launched Cresilon out of his dorm room in 2010, along with co-founder Isaac Miller, first creating a veterinary version of the product called Vetigel.

Designed to stop bleeding in animals, Vetigel has since saved over 65,000 lives in 34 countries. That success laid the groundwork for TraumaGel — and a bigger vision: to save human lives in the field.

Tested on the front lines — and it works

Big picture view:

After receiving FDA approval last year, TraumaGel rolled out in pilot programs in Boston, New Orleans, Denver and Columbus. EMTs began using it to treat gunshot wounds and other severe bleeds — often seeing results in seconds.

"If it’s in an arm or leg, you can put this product on, and it enables you to control bleeding almost instantly," Landolina added, saying it’s been used in those situations, at least once a week.

The results have been promising, with the potential to transform emergency response. Still, some major agencies — like FDNY and NYPD — haven’t adopted it yet. But Landolina believes that’s only a matter of time.

Going national — but not yet for home use

What's next:

Now, Cresilon is ramping up production for a national launch. From its cleanroom in Brooklyn’s Industry City, every syringe of TraumaGel is made, filled, and packaged under strict sterile conditions. It’s a Brooklyn-made innovation on the cusp of changing lives nationwide.

But there’s a catch: it’s not available to the public. While EMTs and hospitals are starting to see the impact — and this gel could be a game-changer in the field — it’s not something you can pick up at your local pharmacy just yet. For now, parents dealing with everyday cuts and scrapes still have to wait. But Cresilon says that could change in the not-so-distant future.

"Science that’s made here in Brooklyn is what drives me. It's what drives most of the teammates here at Cresilon, because we know that we're able, in what's very likely, someone's worst day of their lives, we're able to make a little difference and help them move forward, and ideally, help save their lives.... because we know, on someone’s worst day, we might help them live through it."

BrooklynHealth