Healthcare Industry News: LifeCell
News Release - August 4, 2009
KCI Launches Innovative ABThera Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System to Help Manage Patients with Severe Conditions
Launch Introduces Easy-to-Use System That Assists Surgeons in Achieving Primary Fascial ClosureSAN ANTONIO--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI ), today announced the official launch of ABThera(TM) open abdomen negative pressure therapy system, the latest addition to its Negative Pressure Technology Platform (NPTP). ABThera addresses patient quality of life through an easy-to-use system designed to assist surgeons in the management and treatment of “open abdomen” and to help achieve primary fascial closure. The product will launch this week in a limited number of locations, with a national launch this fall.
The specific benefits of the new system include:
- Active removal of fluid and reduction of edema,
- Providing medial tension that helps minimize fascial retraction and loss of domain,
- Helping to isolate viscera and abdominal compartment from external environment,
- Providing separation between the abdominal wall and viscera, and
- Removing infectious and inflammatory materials from the abdomen.
The ABThera system is indicated for temporary bridging of abdominal wall openings where primary closure is not possible or repeat abdominal entries are necessary. The system’s intended use is in open abdominal wounds, with exposed viscera, including but not limited to abdominal compartment syndrome. KCI estimates there are approximately 250,000 open abdomen procedures performed annually within the U.S. and E.U. The organization believes the ABThera system represents a global opportunity of up to $400 million.
Importantly, ABThera can be used adjunctively with other KCI products. In the most serious cases, surgeons can use the LifeCell Strattice(TM) Reconstructive Tissue Matrix or AlloDerm(R) Regenerative Tissue Matrix, products from the company’s regenerative medicine division, as a bridging material to help achieve wound closure following the application of ABThera.
“ABThera is a product that truly addresses a clinical unmet need in a life-threatening condition, which makes the people of KCI very proud,” said Catherine Burzik, KCI president and CEO. “ABThera also represents the types of negative pressure-regenerative medicine therapies we envisioned through our acquisition of LifeCell. To potentially use ABThera with our Strattice(TM) and AlloDerm(R) products in the management of complex patients creates a true opportunity to leverage our advanced product portfolio comprehensively. We plan to further extend our Negative Pressure Technology Platform, with an eye towards the best clinical outcomes possible for patients and the medical community.”
“Patients with open abdomen are among the most complex and expensive to manage in hospitals,” said Mark Kaplan, M.D., chief of trauma and surgical care and associate chairman of surgery at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. “KCI’s ABThera system provides a comprehensive therapeutic solution to the significant challenges we face in managing open abdomen patients. The simplicity of the system and therapeutic benefits of early application should encourage surgeons to use ABThera as a first line of therapy and apply the dressing early in the clinical management of these complex patients.”
For more information, please visit www.abthera.com.
About KCI
Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI ), is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI's success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing and the lives of patients around the world.
The Company employs 6,700 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI, and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding management’s estimated market size for open-abdomen procedures as well as KCI’s expectations for product performance and plans for future product developments and introductions. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should, seeks, future, continue, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. In particular, our ability to recognize increased sales and profitability from our ABThera products is subject to all the risks associated with the commercialization of new products based on innovative technologies, including unanticipated technical problems, manufacturing difficulties, gaining customer acceptance and other factors beyond our control. Additional risks and factors are identified in KCI's filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, which are available on the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. KCI undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Kinetic Concepts
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