Healthcare Industry News: BIOGUARD
News Release - October 21, 2008
Derma Sciences Announces Commercial Launch of XTRASORB(TM)
Novel polymer-based super-absorbent dressing will be first of its kind in US and CanadaPRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 21 (Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network) -- Derma Sciences, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DSCI ), a company specializing in advanced wound care, today announced the commercial launch of its newest product -- XTRASORB(TM) Super Absorbent Dressing. The novel dressing features a polymer-based core that could help change the way clinicians manage heavily exuding wounds, currently a significant issue in wound care. The dressing will be launched at next week's Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin & Wound Care in Las Vegas.
Commenting on the launch, CEO Ed Quilty stated, "This is something we have been excited about for quite a while. Foam dressings, for highly exuding wounds, is the single largest category of moist wound dressings, with over $300 million in global sales. Still, even the best dressings in this category have limitations. Clinicians still want dressings to hold more fluid to reduce the number of time-consuming and costly dressing changes. Additionally, the fluid that a foam dressing does absorb is at a high risk of being pushed back onto the wound bed, potentially causing serious complications to the wound. For these reasons, our market research shows that clinicians will love the fact that XTRASORB can absorb roughly 50% more than even the most absorbent foam dressing, and that the polymer-based super-absorbent core forms a gel which locks all the wound fluid inside the dressing and away from the wound. This has multiple benefits, including reducing the risk of wound breakdown due to excessive moisture, as well as keeping harmful bacteria often found in wound fluid away from the wound."
Quilty continued, "Based on our research and feedback from customers, we are extremely confident that we will have another successful product launch. We launched MEDIHONEY® Dressings last year at the Clinical Symposium, and we have done very well with that product. Our expectations for XTRASORB are very high, and we look forward to it being a significant contributor to our overall growth moving forward. This is yet another step in the course we've charted out over the past several years -- using the cash flow from our $50+ million revenue baseline business to fund the development of novel higher margin advanced wound care products, and then to launch and support them with marketing and our growing sales organization. This is what is going to drive our topline growth and profitability."
About Derma Sciences
Derma Sciences is a global manufacturer and marketer of advanced wound-care products. Its key product, MEDIHONEY, is sold throughout the world by Derma Sciences and Comvita New Zealand -- the licensor of the patented honey-based technology -- and is the leading brand of honey-based dressings for the management of wounds and burns. The product has been shown to be effective in a variety of wounds and burns, and was recently the focus of a positive large-scale randomized controlled trial on leg ulcers. Derma has two products in development: the BIOGUARD(TM) line of barrier gauze dressings, and DSC127, the company's novel angiotensin analog for accelerated wound healing and scar reduction. The barrier technology was licensed from Quick-Med in Q1 of 2007 and is pending its initial FDA marketing clearance. DSC127 was licensed from The University of Southern California in Q4 of 2007 and is entering into a Phase II study, with anticipated initial patient enrollment to begin in Q3 of 2008. For more information about Derma Sciences, Inc., visit its home page on the Internet at http://www.dermasciences.com.
Source: Derma Sciences
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