Dino Miliotis, a shareholder in Wilmington-based OpiAID and the founder of Bug-Ban, an all-natural insect-repelling wristband that launched in the early 1990s, is bringing a new company to market this winter. 

Keep is an addiction recovery tool and platform that addresses the nonlinear aspects of recovery. Miliotis co-founded the company with TJ Bombard, and it includes a lightweight, waterproof band and an app for monitoring and support. 

The Keep band features a proprietary chip that pairs with an app for morning and evening biometric scans and check-ins intended to track patterns in sleep, cravings and stress. Users can add friends, family or counselors to a support circle to view progress and share updates. The band also serves as a digital wallet, with safeguards for certain purchases.

"Keep was developed basically to fill a void,” Miliotis said. “In the most simplest terms — what happens after the four walls of recovery? And it's basically life happens."

The band is a support tool, Miliotis said, and not intended to diagnose or treat addiction. Eventually, the company hopes to develop a clinical version for use in treatment centers. 

Although the launch date is planned for December, Miliotis said the company has already gained traction: the company closed a $3 million pre-seed round and has an order for 50,000 bands from Canada-based Empower 2 Recover, led by CEO Jay Barnard. 

"It takes a village to recover,” Miliotis said. “You can't really recover in isolation."

He likened the current prototype to a car navigation system.

"We all miss a wrong turn from time to time, and our navigation reroutes and shows you the way back so you can continue,” he said. “That's exactly what we wanted to develop."

While the company has some operations in Nashville, Miliotis said, Keep will stay headquartered in Wilmington. 

Once the app and product launch in December, Miliotis plans to ensure both are affordable, at “a price point of less than one U.S. dollar a day.”

While still a stakeholder in OpiAID, which developed a data science-based software for use in Medication-Assisted Treatment rehab centers, Miliotis stressed that Keep is an entirely distinct venture. 

Miliotis said OpiAID, which remains active in Wilmington despite the death of founder David Reeser earlier this year, is still undergoing FDA-regulated clinical trials for its flagship product.