09/04/2026
Every year, more than 178 million fractures occur worldwide. While many heal with the surgical standard care, recovery is not guaranteed. Between 10–15% of patients experience delayed healing. In high-risk patients, including older adults and those with diabetes or obesity, that number can reach up to nearly 50% of fractures. In the United States alone, there are about 2.2 million fractures that heal poorly each year.
When bones fail to heal properly, the consequences can be severe: repeat surgeries, chronic pain, and long recovery periods that disrupt daily life. Despite the scale of this issue, there are currently no reliable, non-surgical drug treatments that effectively promote bone healing. Professor Chelsea Bahney is working to change that reality through Nexocura.
Delivered through a single injection at the injury site, Nexocura uses a protein-coding nanotherapeutic that instructs cells to produce β-catenin, a key protein involved in the body’s natural healing program, the Wnt pathway.
MTM Students Shiyi Lan, PharmD, Haley Mozier, Jake Matityahu, and Yinhang Liu are playing a key role in advancing this project.
Read more about Nexocura on the MTM website or using the link in our bio.
