King's spinout Eterna Regeneratives advances first product towards market after closing major investment round

Research on repairing tooth enamel originating at King’s College London is moving towards commercial application as spinout Eterna Regeneratives advances its first biomimetic enamel repair technology towards market, following a major investment round.

Founded by Dr Sherif Elsharkawy and Khaled Eissa, Eterna Regeneratives is building a regenerative biomaterials platform that uses naturally derived molecules, including keratin, to develop technologies designed to help the body rebuild tissues.

Enamel is the hard outer layer of the tooth that protects against wear and decay. Unlike many tissues in the human body, however, enamel cannot naturally regenerate once it has been lost. Existing approaches therefore largely focus on managing the effects of enamel loss or replacing damaged tooth structure with synthetic materials.

Eterna is developing a different approach. Its patented technology uses keratin to drive a biomimetic mineralisation process directly on the tooth surface, forming a new enamel-like layer where enamel has been damaged.

The company's technology originated from research led by Dr Sherif Elsharkawy, Chief Science Officer and Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London, alongside PhD student Dr Sara Gamea. Together, they found that keratin, a protein naturally found in materials including hair, skin and wool, could be used to form a new mineralised layer on the surface of damaged teeth, as well as repair bone.

In laboratory experiments using extracted teeth, the researchers found that the keratin-based material formed an enamel-like layer directly on the tooth surface. The resulting layer showed hardness and mechanical strength approaching those of healthy enamel in early tests.

Khaled Eissa, co-founder and CEO of Eterna Regeneratives, said: Enamel is one of the only things the human body can’t regenerate. We wanted to create a product that is readily available, scalable and has the potential to deliver long-term results.”

The findings have since been developed into a patented commercially viable technology, with the latest funding round, led by Hoxton Ventures and The Venture Collective, accelerating the release of the first product to market.

Dr Sherif Elsharkawy, Chief Science Officer and co-founder of Eterna Regeneratives, and Clinical Lecturer at Prosthodontics, King’s College London, said: “Solving enamel loss, which frequently leads to even worse conditions and diseases, is a major step forward for better oral health care. This investment will allow us to accelerate from lab-based proof of concept to real-world products at pace, and we could be in the market as early as the end of the year.”

Eterna says it is bringing the material into multiple accessible oral-care products, including mouthwash and professional products, while continuing the necessary development, testing and regulatory work ahead of launch.

Enamel repair represents Eterna’s first commercial application; however, within its broader platform, the company is also exploring the same underlying approach applied to bone regeneration and other tissues. The development is an example of how research at King’s can be taken towards commercial applications, with discoveries in regenerative biomaterials being explored for potential use in dentistry and, ultimately, other areas of healthcare.