KLISBio, Company history

Great ideas often emerge from unexpected circumstances and intuition, yet transforming them into reality demands commitment, expertise, and a skilled team. Silk Biomaterials, now operating as KLISBio, resulted from a fortuitous meeting among four professionals — Antonio Alessandrino, Giuliano Freddi, Gabriele Grecchi, and Lorenzo Sala — united by a shared mission to enhance human wellbeing.

Antonio's personal experience with ankle ligament weakness inspired his 2003 Master's thesis on anterior cruciate ligament repair. While studying at Politecnico di Milano, he discovered spider silk properties through a documentary and recognized its potential for medical applications. This insight drove him to investigate silk fibroin matrices under the mentorship of Giuliano Freddi, one of the most renowned Italian experts of silk.

The collaboration between Antonio and Giuliano yielded three-dimensional silk scaffolds suitable for various clinical uses. Their work progressed from silk-based textiles to electrospun matrices for ligament, blood vessel, skin, and bone applications.

The company's establishment required two additional founders. Lorenzo Sala, a management engineer with healthcare expertise, shaped production systems. Gabriele Grecchi, with banking and venture backgrounds plus an MBA, joined after meeting Antonio at a venture capital-sponsored accelerator in 2013.

Silk Biomaterials officially launched in 2014 at ComoNExT Innovation Hub with funding from Como's Chamber of Commerce. That year brought the National Prize for Innovation and additional non-dilutive funding.

In January 2022, the company rebranded as KLISBio with a refreshed visual identity targeting investors, venture capitalists, and industry professionals.