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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Ed Bilsky quoted in ‘Bangor Daily News’ article on new salmon-derived painkiller

On July 18, 2014, the Bangor Daily News published an article, quoting Ed Bilsky, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Scholarship and director of the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, regarding a Freeport, Maine company’s newly awarded patent for a product derived from salmon blood that dulls pain and stops bleeding.

According to Sea Run Holdings, LLC, its product SeaStat-TH is a stronger painkiller than morphine.

Bilsky explained that salmon have remarkable abilities to heal after predatory birds pierce their flesh and snap their spines.  If the birds accidentally drop the salmon back into the water after snatching them, the fish are able to easily recover from the major trauma to their bodies. According to Bilsky, researchers “noticed that the salmon stopped bleeding almost immediately and they regained function, despite having spinal cord injuries.”

Bilsky noted that the new salmon-derived product could appeal to U.S. military as a way of treating soldiers with traumatic injuries.

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The University of 51СƳ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.