Product News December 2009

Anodyne Therapy (Tampa, Fla), recently launched Anodyne® Freedom 300, their newest product designed to allow patients to affordably and effectively treat foot and leg pain associated with diabetes. Utilizing cutting edge technology, the design of the new device allows patients to quickly and correctly apply it for maximum results. The device is particularly effective for patients whose pain is associated with impaired circulation to the feet and legs by more than 100%. The company will donate proceeds from the sales of this product to two international charities supporting people with diabetes—Wound Care Haiti and the IDF’s Life For a Child. Wound Care Haiti’s mission is to establish a limb amputation prevention program in Haiti by providing preventative foot care, supplies, and education to the country’s diabetic population. The IDF’s Life for a Child program supports children suffering with diabetes globally by providing appropriate medical supplies and education.

Visit www.anodynetherapy.com for more information.

Healthpoint (Fort Worth, Tex) announced that it will begin selling its Ultracept Antiseptic Handwash to consumers online and plans to get the product into drugstores during the first half of next year. The US surgical market for hand sanitizers is estimated to yield $30 million annually, but the consumer market is as much as $500 million this year with all the concerns about swine flu. The handwash lasts up to 6 hours as a result of high alcohol content and antimicrobial preservatives that bind to the skin. The company reports that typical consumer hand sanitizers stop killing germs within minutes of application.      

Visit www.ultracept.com for more information.

PuriCore (Stafford, England) has revealed the results of a randomized clinical trial showing the potential effectiveness of its Vashe® Wound Therapy in the postoperative care of split thickness skin grafts for burn injuries. Vashe Wound Therapy is a safe, effective, and economical alternative to commonly used wound irrigating solutions that inhibit wound healing. The clinical trial was conducted by Kevin Foster, MD, MBA, FACS, Co-Director of the Arizona Burn Center at the Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Results showed that the wound therapy is as effective as the control, 5% Sulfamylon® solution (mafenide acetate, USP), a synthetic antimicrobial agent, in the post-operative care of grafts for burns and potentially provides greater pain control. The average graft take for the wound therapy and 5% Sulfamylon was 97.4% and 96%, respectively. Infection rates during the trial were equivalent, and none were attributable to the therapy. Further, the trials showed that the therapy demonstrated greater than 50% cost savings compared with 5% Sulfamylon. The therapy is an exciting new alternative technology that demonstrates clinical efficacy for postoperative skin graft irrigation while offering significant overall cost savings.

Visit www.puricore.com for more information.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 1 in 4 patients with diabetic foot ulcers will eventually require lower-limb amputation. Science may have found a way of mobilizing stem cells within the body. Recent studies have shown that surgically moving mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are mostly found in bone marrow onto hard-to-heal wounds accelerates healing. However, this process is painful and costly. Derma Sciences (Princeton, NJ) has been developing a new drug—DSC127, which appears to activate the mesenchymal stem cells in a patient’s body and direct them towards the wound. In a 75-patient Phase II diabetic foot ulcer clinical trial being conducted at some of the nation’s top institutions, the drug is being considered for additional indications including venous leg ulcers, arterial ulcers, pressure ulcers, thermal and chemical wounds, and scar prevention. Pre-clinical animal studies have demonstrated the efficacy of the compound in accelerating healing and reducing scar formation.

Visit https://asweetlife.org for more information.