Arnie Caplan legacy

As a protégé of the late biology Professor Arnold Caplan, Franco Kraiselburd ’24 had a window into regenerative medicine at the cutting edge. The young biomedical engineer took full advantage.

Before graduating, he launched Asclepii, a medtech company developing a gel that uses stem cells to heal wounds. Both Kraiselburd and his company are attracting attention and investment.

In October, Crain’s Cleveland Business featured him as one of “20 in their 20s” likely to have an impact on Northeast Ohio’s economy. In July, Ideastream, Cleveland’s public radio station, featured Kraiselburd in a story about Cleveland’s promising startups. It noted Asclepii is among 10 companies selected for the new Trailblazer HealthTech Accelerator managed by JumpStart, the region’s leading startup accelerator.

“Kraiselburd and his team have more than $1 million in hand or committed for the development of their next-generation band aid, made of natural and synthetic polymers that can carry medicine directly to wounds,” Ideastream reported. “The promise of large-scale success also makes their company a prime example of the region’s latest effort to nurture startup companies that draw venture capital and grow to job-generating success.”

An international citizen who has lived in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Spain, Kraiselburd came to Case to study in the lab of Caplan, a legend of tissue engineering. Caplan died in January 2024 at age 82. Kraiselburd grieved his mentor and threw himself into his mission of bringing regenerative medicine to the masses.

Asclepii is working to commercialize a flexible, low-cost bandage for healing that adapts to a patient’s skin and wound. “We’re making a bunch of healers of wounds,” Kraiselburd told Crain’s. “My job is to turn a $30,000 stem cell therapy into (a) $300 (treatment).”