Nycomed and Ceremed Announce Licensing and Distribution Agreement
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24 -- Ostene® is the only available product designed to stop bone bleeding in surgery that does not interfere with bone healing or increase the risk of surgical infections, including MRSA. This novel biomaterial is used in cardiac, orthopedic, and neurosurgery and has additional applications as a safe, soluble delivery vehicle for a variety of therapeutic agents, from antibiotics to bone growth factors. Ostene® is FDA-approved and carries a CE mark.
Ostene® is a sterile mixture of water-soluble alkylene oxide copolymers developed as an affordable, easy-to-handle synthetic bone hemostasis material that does not increase the risk to patients. Wax-like and malleable during application, the biomaterial dissolves rapidly and is eliminated from the body unchanged shortly after surgery. Ceremed is currently developing next generation of Ostene®with antibiotics specifically designed to prevent hospital-acquired surgical infection.
The use of Ostene® in cardiac surgery may help reduce the risk of sternal wound infection and prevent the post-operative separation of the sternum, much feared complications. The benefits of Ostene® may be particularly significant for a growing high-risk group of diabetics and overweight patients who currently represent approximately 25% of more than 640,000 open heart surgery procedures performed each year in the US alone.
Ceremed president and CEO Dr. Tadeusz Wellisz said, "The agreement with Nycomed provides us with a partner who will help us pursue a full cardiac, orthopedic, and neurosurgical development program for Ostene® in Europe. We appreciate Nycomed's expertise in this territory, and we look forward to working with Nycomed's tissue management team on bringing Ostene® to patients throughout Europe. Ostene®'s unique anti-bacterial properties are particularly significant now that we are battling the threat of hospital-acquired infections, especially MRSA."
About The Companies:
Ceremed, Inc. is a privately held California medical device corporation formed in 2002 by a surgeon and a group of scientists from the University of Southern California. The company has unique expertise and a portfolio of innovative proprietary technology in the field of soluble alkylene oxide copolymers. These polymers have multiple medical applications, including bone hemostasis and a delivery system for a variety of therapeutic agents. Ceremed is currently developing new products and new applications for its core technology.
Nycomed is a pharmaceutical company active in tissue management as well as cardiology, gastroenterology, osteoporosis, respiratory, and pain management. It provides prescription drugs, medical devices, and, in selected markets, OTC drugs to hospitals and individual doctors. New products are sourced both from own research and from external partners and made available in 50 countries throughout Europe and in fast-growing markets such as Latin America, Russia, and the Asia-Pacific. Nycomed is privately held with the combined group annual sales of euro 3.4 billion (2006 results).