New Products and Industry News

Acquisition announced

  Smith & Nephew (Forth Worth, TX) will acquire substantially all of the assets of Healthpoint Biotherapeutics for $782 million in cash. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in December 2012.

  Over the last several years, Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, founded in 1992 by Chairman and CEO Paul Dorman, has focused on biopharmaceutical leadership in acute, chronic, and burn-related wound care. Led by sales of Collagenase Santyl® ointment, the company has driven impressive growth in its commercial platform and laid the groundwork for strong future growth through development of a novel cell therapy, HP802-247, now in trials.   HP802-247 is an investigational allogeneic living human cell suspension that consists of two components that are sprayed sequentially on the wound bed at the time of treatment: a fibrinogen solution and a cell preparation containing a mixture of growth-arrested, living, allogeneic epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. Based on in vitro studies, HP802-247 is believed to release various growth factors and cytokines into the micro-environment of the wound. These living cells are anticipated to interact with the patient’s own cells to stimulate wound healing. HP802-247 has been designed to deliver a defined cell ratio (keratinocyte:fibroblasts) to allow safe and optimal tissue regeneration.

  Positive topline results for a Phase IIb clinical trial investigating the efficacy of HP802-247 in venous leg ulcers recently were announced. The study was a randomized, double blind, dose-finding study involving 228 subjects enrolled across 35 investigational centers in the United States. Overall, HP802-247 achieved statistical significance, as compared with control plus standard care, in both the primary and secondary endpoints. HP802-247 appears to be generally safe and well tolerated, with the safety profile of the active groups being similar to placebo.

  For more information, visit TheWoundInstitute.com® or www.Healthpointbio.com.

Silicone adhesives introduced

  Bluestar Silicones presented its new SILBIONE® HC2 silicones for wound management at COMPAMED shows in Europe last month. SILBIONE® HC2 2011 and SILBIONE® HC2 2031 are biocompatible skin adhesives for use on breached skin and open wounds. These tacky gels provide balance between skin adhesion and atraumatic removal.

  Silicone dressings are a major development because they considerably reduce patient pain; they are soft and do not strip hair and upper layers of the epidermis as do conventional adhesives. They also prevent the development of adherence between the wound and the absorbent pad during healing. The risks of trauma upon removal are minimized, even during critical phases when the wound is drying, providing greater patient comfort. In addition, owing to their silicone composition and hydrophobic nature, their adherence to moist wounds enables improved granulation and epithelialization.

  With this launch, the company now offers a complete range of technologies for the design of wound management products, including SILBIONE® RT foams, (winner of a Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Excellence Award for silicones in healthcare applications); SILBIONE® RTVs, which allow access to smart composite materials; and the new SILBIONE® HC2 gels. In addition, the company is keen to customize the SILBIONE® HC2 silicone gels to fit with OEMs specific requirements. Two different viscosities facilitate dealing with the customers’ coating processes and dressings designs.

  For more information, visit www.bluestarsilicones.com.

Two new codes created for negative pressure device

  Spiracur Inc (Sunnyvale, CA) announced the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has established two new Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes for negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) using a mechanically powered device. The HCPCS codes G0456 and G0457, which apply to the company’s mechanically powered SNaP® Wound Care System, provide a payment mechanism for NPWT procedures furnished to beneficiaries through means unrelated to the durable medical equipment benefit.

  The new codes are for clinical services using a mechanically powered device, not durable medical equipment, including provision of cartridge and dressing(s), topical applications(s), wound assessment, and instructions for ongoing care. Code G0456 applies to total wound(s) surface area < 50 cm², and code G0457 applies to total wound(s) surface area > 50 cm².

  For more information, visit www.spiracur.com.

Chronic wound care month designated

  Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper has proclaimed May 2013 Chronic Wound Care Awareness Month in conjunction with the 2013 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Spring/Wound Healing Society (SAWC Spring/WHS) meeting to be held May 1–5, 2013, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO.

  More than 2,000 physicians, podiatrists, nurses, therapists, and researchers are expected to benefit from the educational information presented at the 2013 SAWC Spring/WHS conference. The program’s focus on evidence-based medicine is designed to greatly improve patient outcomes while helping providers reduce the overall economic burden of chronic wounds.

  For more information on the 2013 SAWC Spring/WHS meeting, visit www.sawcspring.com or contact Tiffney Oliver at (609) 630-6223.

New extracellular matrix size is available

  Healthpoint Biotherapeutics (Fort Worth, TX) introduced a 5 cm x 7 cm size of OASIS® Ultra Tri-Layer Matrix, a naturally derived extracellular matrix (ECM) material formed from three layers of porcine small intestinal submucosa. The three-layer construct of ECM was designed to provide increased structure for difficult-to-heal and chronic wounds. Small intestinal submucosa, the base technology for OASIS® Ultra, is among the most widely studied and published biomaterials, featured in more than 832 scientific publications.

  For more information, visit www.Healthpointbio.com.

Catheter-related infections reduced using securement dressing

  A study regarding the impact of 3M™ (St. Paul, MN) Tegaderm™ Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) IV Securement Dressing on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), showed that with use of CHG dressings, the CRBSI rate was 60% lower than non-CHG dressings. The study was carried out in 12 intensive care units across 11 hospitals in France among 1,879 patients requiring vascular catheters. The performance of CHG gel dressings, highly adhesive dressings, and standard dressings was compared from May 2010 to July 2011. The study was the largest randomized, controlled trial ever conducted to evaluate the use of CHG-gel dressings to reduce CRBSIs.

  For more information, visit www.3M.com/TegadermCHG.

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.