San Diego, California, September 23, 2026
Tempo Therapeutics has been awarded a potential $2.25 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance its proprietary Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP™) Wound Matrix for complex wound healing. The two-year award will support MOSAIC II, a randomized clinical study designed to evaluate whether MAP can accelerate the formation of healthy, vascularized tissue and reduce the time required for complex wounds to become ready for reconstruction or skin grafting. The funding is subject to continued satisfactory progress and availability of funds.
NIH Grant Supports MAP Wound Matrix Study
The newly funded research will evaluate MAP in patients undergoing reconstructive procedures following complex non-melanoma skin cancer resections with exposed bone. The study is intended to determine whether the synthetic biomaterial can shorten the time needed to develop a suitable wound bed for subsequent grafting. Stephanie Deshayes, Ph.D., Tempo Therapeutics’ Vice President of Research & Development, will serve as principal investigator for MOSAIC II. The NIH award specifically supports one or more clinical trials, with the MOSAIC II randomized study identified as the funded project. Tempo describes MAP as a flowable, volumetric scaffold designed to support tissue regeneration throughout the volume of a complex wound rather than relying primarily on healing from the wound margins. The technology is engineered to encourage the ingrowth of cells and formation of new tissue while minimizing inflammatory signaling associated with a persistent foreign-body response that can occur with implanted biomaterials. The objective is to create a healthy and vascularized wound environment that can subsequently support reconstruction or grafting.
MAP Technology Targets Complex Wound Healing
The MOSAIC II study builds on Tempo Therapeutics’ recently published first-in-human randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical study involving patients with full-thickness wounds following Mohs surgery for non-melanoma skin cancer. According to the company, wounds treated with MAP achieved a favorable Wound Bed Score approximately 14 days earlier than control wounds, without delaying overall wound closure. At approximately six months, MAP-treated wounds also demonstrated improved physician-assessed scar quality and reduced soft-tissue volume loss compared with standard-of-care hydrocolloid treatment. The new study is intended to extend those findings into a more challenging reconstructive setting. Researchers will evaluate whether MAP can support faster formation of a vascularized wound bed suitable for grafting when complex wounds involve exposed bone. This is an important area of regenerative-medicine research because large or deep wounds can require extended treatment before they are ready for definitive reconstruction. The study will provide an opportunity to evaluate whether the biomaterial’s proposed regenerative mechanism translates into clinically meaningful improvements in complex wound management.
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Regenerative Medicine Platform Advances Toward FDA Review
Tempo Therapeutics is developing its patented MAP™ technology platform for applications in surgical reconstruction and wound healing, with additional potential applications in aesthetic dermatology and other areas of regenerative medicine. The company’s lead product has completed first-in-human clinical evaluation and has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration through the De Novo pathway, representing another regulatory milestone in the development of the technology. The NIH funding provides additional support for clinical evaluation of MAP while Tempo works to establish evidence for its use in difficult wounds. The grant was awarded under NCI Award Number R44CA314892, and the research is supported through the federal SBIR program, which funds small businesses conducting research and development aligned with participating federal agencies’ missions.
For Tempo Therapeutics, the $2.25 million NIH award represents an important development and funding milestone as the company advances its regenerative biomaterial platform into further clinical testing. The MOSAIC II study will help determine whether MAP’s approach to volumetric tissue regeneration can translate into faster wound-bed formation and improved reconstructive outcomes. Results from the clinical program will be important for assessing the technology’s potential role in the management of complex wounds and surgical reconstruction.
Source: Tempo Therapeutics press release
