12 September 2023
ONDINE BIOMEDICAL INC.
("Ondine Biomedical", "Ondine" or the "Company")
Steriwave evaluation at major heart institute
Canadian life sciences company Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON: OBI) has launched an eight-month evaluation of its Steriwave® nasal photodisinfection technology at the University of Alberta's Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton, Canada, a world-leading centre for complex cardiac care and surgery. The evaluation will include around 1000 cardiac surgery patients treated with Steriwave to further reduce post-surgical infection risk.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most significant complications in cardiac surgery patients and are strongly associated with poorer prognosis, longer hospitalization, higher medical costs, and high mortality.[1] Universal pre-operative nasal decolonization has been found to significantly decrease SSIs caused by the infection-causing pathogen S. aureus following cardiac procedures.[2]
Ondine Biomedical's CEO Carolyn Cross said:
"Ondine is delighted to be working with one of the top cardiac healthcare facilities in the world to further reduce the risk of infections following cardiac surgery. The consequences of a post-surgical infection can be catastrophic and can be especially hard for a patient and their family if the procedure itself has been successful. The team at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute has been fantastic and welcomed the addition of Steriwave nasal photodisinfection to their infection prevention protocols. We are very pleased to help and look forward to sharing results from this evaluation next year."
Ondine's nasal photodisinfection treatment kills all types of pathogens - viruses, bacteria, and fungi - in minutes without causing resistance and is already in use in major hospitals across Canada, including Vancouver General Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital.
In these hospital settings, pre-surgical use of Steriwave has resulted in significant improvement in post-surgical outcomes including lower rates of infection, reduced patient length of stay, fewer readmissions, and lower rates of antibiotic prescribing.[3],[4],[5] In Ondine's US Phase 2 trial, a single, five-minute nasal photodisinfection treatment was found to eliminate or significantly decrease Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in 86% of carriers.[6]
**ENDS**
About Ondine Biomedical Inc.
Ondine Biomedical Inc. is a Canadian headquartered company innovating in the field of photodisinfection therapies. Ondine has a pipeline of investigational products, based on its proprietary photodisinfection platform, in various stages of development. Products beyond nasal photodisinfection include therapies for a variety of medical indications such as chronic sinusitis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, burns, and other indications.
About Nasal Photodisinfection
Ondine's nasal photodisinfection is a patented technology using a proprietary photosensitizer (non- antibiotic, light-activated agent) to destroy pathogens. The photodisinfection treatment is carried out by a trained healthcare professional and is an easy to use, painless, two-step process. The photosensitizer is applied to each nostril using a nasal swab, followed by illumination of the area with a specific wavelength of laser light for less than five minutes. The light activates the photosensitizer, causing an oxidative burst that is lethal to all types of pathogens. A key benefit of this approach, unlike with antibiotics, is that pathogens do not develop resistance to the therapy.
Nasal decolonization with antibiotics is already standard practice in many hospitals prior to surgery, as pathogens in a patient's nasal cavities are a major cause of surgical site infections (SSIs). However, there is a growing need to reduce antibiotic use and find non-antibiotic methods of nasal decolonization as resistance rates have been reported as high as 81%.[7]
Ondine's nasal photodisinfection system has a CE mark in Europe and the UK and is approved in Canada and several other countries under the name Steriwave®. It has been used in Canada for over ten years, with no serious adverse events reported. In the US, it is currently undergoing clinical trials for regulatory approval.
About The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton is a world leader in complex cardiac care and surgery. With a collaborative approach, its team of highly skilled cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, cardiac care professionals, researchers and educators are advancing the prevention, detection, treatment and study of cardiovascular disease.
[1] Zukowska A, Zukowski M. Surgical Site Infection in Cardiac Surgery. J Clin Med. 2022 Nov 26;11(23):6991. doi: 10.3390/jcm11236991. PMID: 36498567; PMCID: PMC9738257.
[2] Lemaignen A, Armand-Lefevre L, Birgand G, et al. Thirteen-year experience with universal Staphylococcus aureus nasal decolonization prior to cardiac surgery: a quasi-experimental study. J Hosp Infect. 2018;100(3):322-328. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2018.04.023.
[3] Banaszek D, Inglis T, Tamir Ailon T, Charest-Morin R, Dea N, Fisher C, Kwon B, Paquette S, Street J. The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in prevention of surgical site infection. The Spine Journal, Volume 19, Issue 9, Supplement, 2019, Page S138.
[5] Bryce E, Wong T, Forrester L, et al. Nasal photodisinfection and chlorhexidine wipes decrease surgical site infections: a historical control study and propensity analysis [published correction appears in J Hosp Infect. 2015 Sep;91(1):93]. J Hosp Infect. 2014;88(2):89-95. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2014.06.017
[7] Poovelikunnel T, Gethin G, Humphreys H. Mupirocin resistance: clinical implications and potential alternatives for the eradication of MRSA. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2015;70(10):2681-2692. doi:10.1093/jac/dkv169
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