The Memo: Silq Technologies: Resisting Biofilm Formation and Infection at Commercial Scale

Under the scientific direction of Co-Founder and CTO Brian McVerry, Ph.D., Silq Technologies is translating decades of materials science research into a scalable surface treatment platform designed to reduce infection and other device-related complications without the use of drugs. Born out of academic work at UCLA and refined with commercialization in mind from day one, Silq is applying its technology to implanted medical devices, starting with its first FDA-cleared product, the Silq ClearTractⓇ Foley Catheter, while also partnering with leading OEMs to enable the next generation of safer implants.

Origin Story

Silq’s roots trace back to McVerry’s doctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles, where his work focused on antifouling materials for industrial water treatment membranes. As a chemist and materials scientist, McVerry studied how biofilm forms on plastics, polymers, and elastomeric materials used in large-scale filtration and desalination systems.

“My thesis was focused on developing antifouling materials for thin-film membranes,” McVerry said. “The membrane elements have the surface area of a football field, and over time, biofilm builds up, making them become less efficient and require more energy. The challenge was not whether antifouling chemistry worked in theory; it was whether it could be applied at scale.”

While hundreds of academic papers demonstrated biofilm-resistant materials in small laboratory samples, McVerry saw a critical gap between proof of concept and real-world deployment. “Many research articles would demonstrate that organic material doesn’t adhere to surfaces on a sample the size of a quarter,” he explained. “But that doesn’t help if you cannot apply the treatment economically, under ambient conditions, and on very large surface areas.”

To solve that problem, McVerry and his PhD advisor at UCLA, Richard Kaner, developed a new approach that permanently bonds antifouling chemistry to plastics and rubbers in a way that is both scalable and commercially viable. Initially, the team explored applications in water treatment. That path shifted when clinicians recognized parallels between membrane biofilm and infection on implanted medical devices.

“Early on, many physicians asked us if we could transition this technology to implanted medical devices,” McVerry said. “We looked at the safety, the biocompatibility, and realized this chemistry was a natural fit.”

That realization prompted an early shift toward medical devices—before the company had even fully taken shape.

The Current Landscape

Device-related infection remains one of the most persistent challenges in healthcare, particularly as antibiotic resistance continues to rise. “Antibiotics are still the main way we deal with infection today,” McVerry said. “But antibiotic resistance is becoming a serious threat. We need to find ways to prevent infections before they even begin.”

On implanted devices, infection often starts with biofilm formation on the device surface. Once established, biofilm can shield bacteria from antibiotics and the immune system, leading to recurrent infection and, in severe cases, sepsis and death.

Indwelling Foley catheters illustrate the problem clearly. Introduced in the 1930s, they are still among the most commonly used medical devices in hospitals today—and the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTIs, are usually treated with antibiotics but can progress to sepsis.

“This aging device has been used for the last 85 years. It still boggles my mind that catheters are among the most implanted devices used in hospitals, are responsible for the greatest amount of nosocomial infections, and they haven't been improved on much since their introduction,” McVerry said.

Against this backdrop, hospitals, clinicians, and regulators are increasingly receptive to new technologies that address infection proactively rather than reactively. “What surprised me,” McVerry noted, “was how hungry the medical device world is for better solutions. Doctors want better technologies. Hospitals want them. Patients want them.”

Inside the Innovation

At the core of Silq’s platform is zwitterion chemistry. “This chemistry mimics the phospholipid bilayer that surrounds every cell in our body,” McVerry explained. “It is bio-inspired. We are using the body’s own chemistry to make devices safer.”

Rather than killing bacteria, Silq’s surface treatment prevents proteins, microbes, and other biological materials from adhering in the first place. The coating forms an extremely thin, tightly bound hydration layer by electrostatically binding water, making it unfavorable for biofilm and other organic materials to attach. The surface treatment also increases the devices’ surface lubricity and ease of insertion, as many devices are inserted over guidewire or sheath delivery systems.

“We are not killing bacteria, which leads to antibiotic resistance,” McVerry said. “We are preventing cells from sticking using a barrier of water.”

This distinction has major regulatory and commercial implications. Many device manufacturers have turned to drug-eluting or antibiotic-infused coatings to combat infection, but doing so converts a product into a combination device, significantly increasing regulatory burden.

“Once you add a drug to a device, the regulatory pathway becomes much more complex,” McVerry said. “With our coating, OEMs can achieve protection against infection, thrombosis, encrustation, and fibrosis without creating a combination device.”

Scalability is the defining differentiator. While zwitterion chemistry has been studied academically for more than 25 years, applying it uniformly across implantable devices at commercial volumes has remained elusive. Silq has solved that problem.

“We can coat full devices, tens of thousands at a time, in a clean room, without adding significant cost,” McVerry said. “That scalability has been baked into the technology since the beginning.”

Silq’s business model reflects this flexibility. While the company develops its own products to demonstrate clinical efficacy, FDA clearance, and competitive production cost, it also partners with OEMs to apply its surface treatment to their existing devices. Through its collaboration with NuSil Technology, a leading supplier of high-purity implant-grade silicone, Silq is working with some of the largest medical device manufacturers on next-generation implants.

“We started with catheters to prove we could solve a major problem on a legacy device—but we’re not a catheter company,” McVerry emphasized. “We’re a surface science company, now working with major industry players to protect their devices. The catheter was initially a vehicle to demonstrate the clinical benefits of the technology, and the patient impact has been so dramatic that it has convinced us of its potential applicability and value to all implantable medical devices.”

Progress and Milestones

Silq’s first commercial product, the Silq ClearTract Foley Catheter, has received FDA clearance and is now rolling out commercially following the completion of two important clinical trials. According to McVerry, the studies demonstrate a greater than 75% reduction in biofilm formation and 70% reduction in infection, both compared to leading catheters on the market. 

The company has begun a phased commercial rollout, initially focused on hospitals and physicians that have issues controlling infection. Early market response has been strong. “Healthcare facilities that have trialed the product in their patients have continued to reorder,” McVerry said, “which we see as an early validation of both clinical and economic value the technology offers. And now we’re receiving requests from hospital systems and outpatient clinics to reduce their CAUTI rates.”

On the commercial access front, Silq has secured innovative technology contracts with two of the largest group purchasing organizations in the U.S., Vizient and Premier, enabling the company to access more than 9,000 hospitals and clinics across the country. The company is also targeting rehabilitation centers and VA hospitals where chronically catheterized patients can benefit significantly from ClearTract’s ability to withstand the onset of infections. 

Looking ahead, Silq is preparing to expand internationally, including into Europe and Asia, while continuing to broaden its OEM partnerships. The company is also initiating a Series D fundraising round, seeking approximately $10 million to scale its commercial efforts, bring follow-on products to market, and build its internal organization structure.

“It’s clear this surface treatment has transformative potential,” McVerry said. “It can protect devices from infection, thrombosis, encrustation, and fibrosis—without drugs and with minimal regulatory complexity. That’s why the time is now right for us to shine the spotlight on this innovative and beneficial technology.”

As Silq prepares to present clinical results and engage with strategic partners, the company is positioning its surface treatment platform not just as an incremental improvement but as a foundational must-have technology for the next generation of implantable medical devices.

Join Us at LSI USA ‘26

McVerry has been selected to present at LSI USA ‘26, March 16th–20th, in front of hundreds of global medical technology companies. Join us in welcoming him to the event in Dana Point, CA, where he will share the latest updates on Silq’s technology and commercial status.