Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 51

ICELAND REVIEW 49
wound management research. in addition to Guðmundur,
they are dr. Baldur Tumi Baldursson (Medical director), J.
ernest kenney (patent counsel) and dr. Hilmar kjartansson
(clinical r&d director). The first three had previously
worked together in the field of chronic wound management at
Össur, the world’s largest non-invasive orthopedics firm. “The
general perception is that prosthetics are mainly needed by
young men who have been in a motorcycle accident or wound-
ed in warfare, when actually the vast majority of amputees are
old people and diabetics suffering from chronic wounds that
won’t heal,” Guðmundur explains. “diabetes has become an
increasingly grave health concern. in the united States, for
example, 10 percent of the population is diabetic. until now
there has been a lack of treatment options for chronic wounds
and we recognized that as an exciting challenge, as well as a
great business opportunity. So we joined forces and founded
kerecis with the mission of developing new methods for heal-
ing.”
Today the company has 20 people on the payroll and is in
steady growth. Business development and clinical work is in
101 reykjavík whereas product development and produc-
tion takes place in a former fish processing warehouse in the
—
ísafjörður, the Westfjords