FreMon Scientific: Precision Thawing Technology
At Connect’s Carlsbad summer event, a bright spotlight was cast on one of the region’s most promising biotech companies—FreMon Scientific. The event featured a compelling keynote by David Wellis, the company’s new CEO, whose extensive journey through the life sciences landscape has uniquely prepared him to lead FreMon through a high-growth phase. Joined by board member Rick Mowry, Wellis articulated a clear vision for transforming how the healthcare industry handles the final, yet crucial, step in administering advanced biologic treatments: thawing.
That question found new urgency during his time leading the San Diego Blood Bank. What began as an operational turnaround evolved into a discovery-driven mission. Wellis identified a hidden opportunity: blood products weren’t just for transfusions—they held untapped value in research and therapeutic applications. This insight led to the creation of two successful spinouts: Prisaya, a skincare company using biologically active plasma fractions, and Excellos, a CDMO powering cell therapy pipelines.
Now, as CEO of FreMon Scientific, Wellis is channeling his entrepreneurial energy into solving one of regenerative medicine’s most neglected problems: the thawing of frozen biologics like plasma, stem cells, and autologous therapies. Despite the billions invested in manufacturing and storing these materials, the final step—thawing—has been largely ignored. Across hospitals, research institutions, and even military field units, clinicians often rely on outdated water baths or, astonishingly, improvised methods such as holding bags under the arm or running warm tap water.
The consequences are serious. Uncontrolled thawing can degrade cell viability, reduce therapeutic efficacy, and lead to the waste of extremely expensive treatments. That reality motivated the development of ZipThaw, a dry, waterless, and precisely controlled thawing system engineered by FreMon Scientific.
ZipThaw replaces water baths with a smart, data-logged system that delivers consistent, reproducible results. The unit is compact, GMP-compliant, and validated for multiple biologics. It’s already deployed in hospitals, research labs, and with all branches of the U.S. military. In early testing, the device demonstrated a 99.2% post-thaw cell viability, outperforming traditional methods by more than 20%, and in some cases preventing treatment from falling below FDA-acceptable viability thresholds.
Unlike legacy players like Helmer and Barkey, which rely on water-based thawing and offer limited consumables, FreMon’s ZipThaw system is differentiated by its robust IP, a data-logged, waterless platform, and a consumable-driven business model. This creates high switching costs and recurring revenue potential that legacy competitors lack—positioning FreMon as a category disruptor rather than a marginal improvement.
The market opportunity is vast and growing rapidly. The cell and gene therapy industry is projected to expand from $5 billion to $44 billion over the next few years. Simultaneously, the cell preservation sector is forecasted to grow from $9 billion to $35 billion, fueled by the rising adoption of personalized medicine, cryopreservation, and decentralized trials. Industry estimates suggest 30,000 to 65,000 water baths will become obsolete annually, with more than 60,000 units currently in circulation.
Despite advances in regenerative medicine and cell therapies, the final stage before administration to patients—the thawing process—remains shockingly unregulated and imprecise. Whether it’s a $3 million cell therapy pack or a unit of frozen plasma, many institutions still rely on outdated water baths or improvised methods like thawing under an arm.
FreMon Scientific's ZipThaw device addresses this gap. It's a dry, waterless thawing system designed to ensure the safety, consistency, and potency of blood and cellular products. The existing standard, water baths, can compromise cell viability and increase waste. ZipThaw offers a controlled, data-logged process that enhances patient safety and reduces costs.
FreMon is tackling this challenge across three core verticals. First is cell and gene therapy, where thawing precision can make or break treatment efficacy. ZipThaw provides clinicians with confidence that critical therapies maintain their full potency up to the moment of administration. Second is blood banking and plasma medicine, where FreMon’s strategic relationships with the Blood Centers of America and GPOs like Vizient open distribution to over 5,000 hospitals. Third is military and field medicine, where ZipThaw’s performance under battlefield conditions has earned it widespread adoption.
Recent traction includes redlined agreements with Advent Health for deployment across 55 hospitals.
Wellis highlighted the market dynamics:
Cell and gene therapy is projected to grow from $5B to $44B.
Cell preservation is expected to increase from $9B to $35B.
30,000 to 65,000 water baths are estimated to become obsolete annually.
Current water bath purchases total about 60,000 units annually.
This growth is driven by rising demand for precision medicine, increasing sample freezing, and the need for GMP-compliant thawing.
ZipThaw is protected by eight U.S. and international patent families, extending through 2039. The system has demonstrated superior performance in early trials:
99.2% post-thaw viability in cell therapy applications.
20% better viability than traditional methods, which sometimes fall below FDA minimums.
Validation has come not just from field tests but also from early adopters. Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Advent Health, and several major research institutions have all adopted ZipThaw.
Wellis presented multiple growth models:
A 200-unit sales model in 2024 alone projects breakeven or profitability by late 2025.
Long-term, consumables (ZipSleeves) are expected to overtake hardware sales, increasing margins substantially by 2027.
I saw a live demonstration by Richard Mowry, a member of FreMon Scientific’s board, showcasing the ZipThaw system in action. His presentation highlighted the precision, speed, and simplicity of the device, making clear how transformative this technology could be for clinicians handling plasma and cell therapies. Watching the thawing process unfold in real-time underscored just how outdated traditional methods are—and how urgently the field needs a standardized, data-driven alternative.
FreMon aims to establish ZipThaw as the standard of care through:
FDA & AABB engagement: The company is well-positioned to influence blood industry protocols.
Military trials: Ongoing trials at Brook Army Hospital demonstrate superiority over legacy methods.
Thought leadership: Board positions and collaborations with institutions like Mass General underscore credibility.
FreMon’s collaboration with the FDA and AABB may pave the way for ZipThaw to be included in GMP guidance for thawing protocols. If successful, this would create a regulatory tailwind that could accelerate adoption and limit competition for years. Reimbursement discussions with CMS are also underway for potential bundled billing inclusion under blood banking services.
From an exit perspective, FreMon is well-aligned with the strategic priorities of potential acquirers like Thermo Fisher, Terumo, or BioLife. Thermo Fisher’s $2.6B acquisition of Brammer Bio and BioLife Solutions’ acquisitions of Stirling Ultracold and Sexton Biotechnologies highlight the growing appetite for tools that streamline cell therapy workflows. FreMon, with its embedded consumable model and 99%+ viability data, represents a rare convergence of platform utility and M&A attractiveness.
FreMon is also exploring international markets, with pilot programs under discussion with NHS-affiliated centers in the UK and hospitals in Singapore. With global thawing standards equally outdated, international sales could represent up to 60% of future revenue.
FreMon Scientific is uniquely positioned at the convergence of biomanufacturing, transfusion medicine, and precision thawing. With over 200 units already deployed, a protected product roadmap, and rising demand across sectors, FreMon is now entering a critical execution phase.
The team is raising funds to commercialize aggressively, scale manufacturing, and launch Gen 2 of ZipThaw. As Wellis closed, the message was clear: this is the moment to bring thawing technology into the 21st century, safeguard patient outcomes, and build a new industry standard.
FreMon is also tapping into diverse verticals:
Cell & Gene Therapy: With two of the seven FDA-approved autologous cell therapies already processed by Excellos, ZipThaw has a strong foothold in clinical workflows where precision is non-negotiable.
Blood Banking & Plasma Medicine: FreMon is actively collaborating with the Blood Centers of America, positioning itself to access over 2,500 hospitals. Additional partnerships with GPOs like Vizient could add another 3,000 facilities to its distribution pipeline.
Military & Field Medicine: Tested under extreme conditions, ZipThaw has shown it can deliver thawed blood products with superior oxygen-carrying capacity—a critical metric in combat and trauma care.
On the regulatory front, FreMon is actively engaging with the FDA and AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) to promote GMP-compliant thawing as a new standard. The company is also conducting trials at Brook Army Hospital, one of the military’s premier medical research institutions.
FreMon’s strong fundamentals and visionary leadership make it a logical acquisition target. Similar tech companies in the thawing space—such as Helmer and Barkey—sold for 4x revenue despite lacking proprietary consumables or comparable IP portfolios. Given its razor-razorblade model and potential to become the standard of care, FreMon could command an even higher multiple.
As FreMon accelerates into this next phase, Gen 2 of ZipThaw is already in development, with improvements focused on throughput, connectivity, and automation. These upgrades are expected to open even more doors across pharma manufacturing and clinical logistics, while further increasing switching costs for existing customers.
In a world where billion-dollar cell therapies can be rendered ineffective by a few minutes of poor thawing, FreMon’s value proposition is simple but powerful: ensure every dose is delivered at full potency, with traceable, reproducible precision.
