Pascal Life Sciences is an emerging medtech company pioneering the use of advanced click chemistry to develop a new class of hydrogel therapeutics for improving patient care. The company’s ClickGel platform technology is an injectable, biocompatible, and biodegradable gel with broad clinical potential for local delivery of biologics, antibiotics, and tissue sealants.
Our work is grounded in science, shaped by clinical insight, and driven by a commitment to transform patient lives.
Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D.
Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., is CEO, Co-Founder, and Board Chair of Pascal Medical Corporation. She also serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Engineering and Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds the Alice T. and William H. Goodwin, Jr. Chair in Biomedical Engineering and has affiliate appointments in the Department of Orthopaedics and Physiology at the VCU School of Medicine. Dr. Boyan is also a professor emerita in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering.
Previously, Dr. Boyan served as the Dean of Engineering at VCU from 2013 to 2022. She was also the founding Director of the FDA-sponsored Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium. She is a Fellow in national and international scientific societies, including the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Orthopaedic Research Society, the American Institute of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, the International College of Fellows of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, and the European Academy of Science and Arts, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012. Dr. Boyan is a member of the Biologics Committee for the North American Spine Society and a former chair of the FDA’s Orthopaedic Device Panel. She is a former vice-chair of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing board. In 2020, Dr. Boyan was appointed by the Governor to the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority board, where she served as inaugural chair until 2024.
Dr. Boyan has founded several biomedical technology companies and served on the Boards of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. She has authored more than 540 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters and holds 24 issued U.S. and international patents.
Co-Founder
“I have dedicated my career to understanding human biology to assist in the development of numerous breakthrough technologies. But ClickGel is different. It’s an incredibly versatile technology with the power to touch countless lives, which is a powerful motivator for me and the rest of my exceptional scientific team.”
— Barbara Boyan, PhD
CLICK CHEMISTRY EXPLAINED
A recent Nobel-winning technology, click chemistry is a powerful and versatile set of chemical reactions that allows for the rapid and reliable formation of targeted molecules. The term “click” refers to the ease and simplicity of these reactions, which “snap” molecular building blocks together like a puzzle piece.
Click chemistry is characterized by:
Precision
Click reactions are highly selective, meaning they will primarily react with one specific functional group, minimizing unwanted reactions.
Efficiency
These reactions typically generate high yields and minimal side products, making them efficient and ideal for small-scale and large-scale applications.
Versatility
Because the reactions are modular, they can be used to build complex molecules by simply changing one or two components, offering flexibility in molecular design.
Biocompatibility
Click reactions generally occur in mild conditions, including biological systems, making them useful in biochemistry and surgical treatment applications.
