New Products and Industry News

WOC nurse/OWM Board member selected for leadership initiative

  Diane L. Krasner, PhD, RN, FAAN, Adult Nursing Coordinator, York County School of Technology (York, PA), has been selected through competitive application for Lead, a leadership development program designed for nurse educators in rapid transition to positions of faculty and administrative leadership. The program is provided under the auspices of the Leadership Institute of the National League for Nursing (NLN), with support from the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future. Dr. Krasner is part of the third Lead cohort of 20 select nurse educators from colleges and universities around the United States chosen to study for 1 year under the direction of NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

  For more information, contact facultyprograms@nln.org.

New copay assistance program for collagenase ointment

  Healthpoint Biotherapeutics (Fort Worth, TX) introduced a Copay Assistance Program for patients who have been prescribed Collagenase SANTYL Ointment and pay more than $50 out-of-pocket for their prescription. Under the program, eligible patients cover the first $50 and the company will pay up to the next $150 of out-of-pocket costs per prescription. The copay card can be used for as many as six prescriptions at a retail pharmacy, up to a $900 annual maximum.

  Both insured and uninsured patients may qualify for the Copay Assistance Program, except for prescriptions reimbursed under governmental healthcare programs or where otherwise restricted by law.

  For more information, visit www.santyl.com/copay.

Phase III study of dermal substitute therapy for EB begins

  Shire plc (San Diego, CA) has started a phase III study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ABH001, its dermal substitute therapy, for the treatment of nonhealing wounds in patients with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a group of rare genetic skin disorders that begin to manifest at birth or early childhood and occur in approximately 19 per 1 million live births in the US.

  ABH001 is comprised of allogenic neonatal dermal fibroblasts seeded on a poly(glycolide-co-L-lactide) scaffold and is currently approved and marketed in the US as a Class III medical device under the trade name Dermagraft for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

  The new phase III study is a multisite, prospective, randomized, open-label, intra-subject controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of ABH001 to initiate healing and reduce the wound surface area of selected stalled, chronic, cutaneous wounds associated with generalized EB.

  Approximately 20 subjects with generalized EB ages 3 years and older are planned to enroll in the trial, which is targeted to be conducted in 10 to 15 sites across the US, Europe, and Canada. The study will comprise ABH001 applications sufficient to cover the surface area of the wound, applied topically every 4 weeks with protocol-specified dressings until healed or for up to 24 weeks.

  For more information, visit www.shire.com.

NACCME brands, SAWC Fall, and CVLN form alliance with PAD Coalition

  North American Center for Continuing Medical Education, LLC (NACCME) (Millstone, NJ), a multi-accredited continuing education provider that powers the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) and Cardiovascular Learning Network (CVLN), announced a partnership with the Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Coalition to co-develop a comprehensive, 1-day PAD track that will take place during SAWC Fall 2013 and will address PAD prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

  SAWC Fall will be held September 27–29, 2013 at Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, with the aforementioned PAD educational track to be held on Saturday, September 28, 2013. Sessions from the SAWC Fall PAD Coalition track will be archived as on-demand educational webinars on the SAWC, CVLN, and PAD Coalition websites.

  For more information, visit www.naccme.com.

US patent issued for skin ulcer treatment

  Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc (Petaluma, CA) announced the issuance of new US patent for the use of Microcyn® Technology in the treatment of skin ulcers. In this application, the technology can be delivered to skin ulcers via washing, irrigation, and soaking or through application of a wound dressing saturated in the treatment. According to claims allowed by the patent examiner, the application via these methods will reduce the microbial load and recurrence rate as well as the likelihood of dehiscence, amputation, and/or systemic inflammatory response syndrome from an infected diabetic foot ulcer.

  For more information, visit www.oculusis.com.

Keratin products available for US military healthcare

  Keraplast technologies’ (San Antonio, TX) Replicine™ Functional Keratin® wound care products are now available on the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS). Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities and active military organizations such as the Department of Defense are now able to access these wound care products through the military supplies distributor Marathon Medical.

  For more information, visit www.marathonmed.com.

Dressing is shown to reduce scarring and infection

  Alliqua, Inc (New York, NY) announced interim results from a post-marketing pilot study to investigate the reduction in scarring and incidence of infection conferred by Alliqua’s SilverSeal® dressing compared to that of a standard petroleum-based dressing in patients who had undergone foot and ankle surgery. Preliminary results at 4 weeks show reduced incidence of infection as well as a greater reduction in scar length, width, and height among patients using the company’s dressing compared to those who had the control dressing applied. Study results were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, February 11–14, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV.

  For more information, visit www.alliqua.com.

Oxygen diffusion dressing helps difficult-to-heal wounds

  EO2® Concepts (San Antonio, TX) has developed a dressing for difficult-to-heal wounds that is as easy to apply as a Band-Aid®. OxySpur™ Oxygen Diffusion Dressings will allow wound patients, their families, and caregivers to provide state-of-the-art oxygen therapy to their wounds with dressings that can be applied in the convenience of their own homes.

  The dressing works by evenly diffusing oxygen to the wound using a highly absorbent and moisture absorbent bandage, providing the most effective environment for healing.

  For more information, visit www.eo2concepts.com.

Beta test agreement announced for hemostatic gauze

  United Health Products, Inc’s (UEEC) wholly owned subsidiary, Epic Wound Care, Inc (Merritt Island, FL) entered into a beta test agreement with the Ryan Network (New York, NY) for UEEC’s hemostatic gauze. Under the beta test protocol, the gauze will be indicated for patients post venipuncture to assess expedited coagulation, ease of use, patient satisfaction, and decreased prolonged coagulation due to patient comorbidities and anticoagulation therapy.

  The gauze is specifically formulated to produce hemostasis almost instantly when positioned on a cut or wound. It contains no potentially harmful chemicals such as thrombin, collagen, or animal byproducts; it is hypoallergenic and works more quickly than other hemostatic agents. Once it has completed its task, it is readily dissolved by saline solution or water for easy removal that neither disturbs the clotted surface nor encourages rebleeding.

  For more information, visit www.ryancenter.org.

Technology accelerates development of wound care management solutions

  Wound care technologies that detect early wound healing and manage wound healing mechanisms are finding favor with physicians trying to determine suitable treatment protocols. Wound care management received a thrust from cost-effective and efficient technologically advanced products and therapies. Some wound care advancements that gained traction recently include wound dressings that offer controlled release of enzymes and antimicrobial agents and silver nanocomposites that exhibit protective barrier and anti-inflammatory properties.

  New analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s (Mountain View, CA) Wound Care Management Technologies research finds that wound care therapy developers are increasingly responding to the demand for more effective wound care solutions. Biotechnology, biomaterial, and tissue engineering-enabled innovations are some of the fastest growing technology segments in this market.

  Other popular innovations in wound management include honey-based dressings with antimicrobial, wound cleansing, and pain-free debridement properties, as well as tissue engineering constructs to promote wound healing. Combination medical devices that help deliver targeted wound care therapy to ensure safe and timely closure of wounds are also in demand.   For more information, visit www.frost.com.

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