PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Derma Sciences, Inc. (OTCBB: DSCI), a manufacturer and full line supplier of wound and skin care products, today announced the formation of a Clinical Advisory Board to help guide the Company’s clinical development strategy for its Active Manuka Honey (API-MEDTM) line of dressings currently under review for 510K clearance, and its MOBILITY-1TM Intermittent Pneumatic Compression (IPC) Therapy device.
Comprised of US key opinion leaders in wound care, burn care, dermatology and vascular diseases and surgery, the Clinical Advisory Board will play an important role in guiding the upcoming launch of the Active Manuka Honey based product which, if approved, will be the first dressing with honey approved for medical use in the US. The Company believes Active Manuka Honey could represent a great improvement over current topical antimicrobials, including ionic silver. The Company’s MOBILITY-1TM IPC device for the treatment of patients with various vascular diseases and lymphedema is the first and only type of its kind in the world, allowing patients to receive optimal compression therapy outside of the home thereby offering a therapeutic and prophylactic alternative that increases patients’ quality of life.
“With the planned launch of our Active Manuka Honey based wound care products and the recently announced licensing agreement with the manufacturers of our MOBILITY-1TM branded product line, we have in place an aggressive plan to help drive market acceptance of these truly unique approaches to active wound care and the treatment of vascular diseases,” said Edward J. Quilty, Chairman, President and CEO. “The market for active wound care is the fastest growing segment of the $4 billion wound care market. Our API-MEDTM product line is one of the most promising new entrants to that market and our MOBILITY-1TM product is a revolutionary advancement in IPC treatment which in 2006 was estimated to be a $156 million market. We are pleased to have attracted highly respected physicians, wound care researchers and healthcare practitioners to our Clinical Advisory Board to help us develop these promising products.”
Speaking of his participation on the Advisory Board, Dr. Robert S. Kirsner, Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine said, "Derma Sciences has put together a group of clinical and thought leaders in wound care to serve on a clinical advisory board. The group assembled has a tremendous breadth and depth of knowledge and experience in the field and it is a pleasure for me to be part of this group. I am certain Derma Sciences is better for having assembled this group as well."
The Clinical Advisory Board comprises the following individuals:
Robert S Kirsner, M.D., PhD is a Professor (tenured) and Vice Chairman in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine. Dr. Kirsner is currently president of the Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (FSDDS). He sits on the board of the Wound Healing Society (WHS) and is a founding member and past president of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC). He co-directs of the largest multi-disciplinary wound care meeting in the United States, the Symposium for Advanced Wound Care (SAWC). The co-editor of a recently released comprehensive book, “Wound Healing”, he has authored over 200 peer reviewed articles including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine.
William J. Ennis, D.O., MBA has practiced wound care for 16 years and is Medical Director of the Comprehensive Wound and Disease Management Center at St. James Hospital, Olympia Fields campus, and the Sub-Acute wound unit at Crestwood Care Center. Dr Ennis is Medical advisor for National Medical Solutions, specialists in wound and disease management, in Brentwood, TN. and is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University. Dr. Ennis is currently the president, and a founding board member for the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC).
Thomas E. Serena, M.D., FACS is Founder and Medical Director of the Penn North Centers for Advanced Wound Care. He is a professor at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania where he established a state-of-the-art research program and developed an acute wound-healing model. He has opened and operates eighteen wound care centers stretching from Buffalo to Pittsburgh. Dr. Serena has been the lead or principal investigator in over 30 clinical trials, including testing blood platelets, antimicrobial dressings, growth factors, topical and parenteral antibiotics and bi-layered cell therapy. He is recognized internationally as an expert in the field of wound healing, having authored 70 published papers and given more than 100 invited lectures through out the world. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Wound Healing Society.
William A. Marston, M.D. currently is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina and is the medical director of the UNC Limb Salvage/Wound Healing Center. Dr. Marston’s research efforts focus on the etiology and treatment of diabetic foot and venous stasis ulcers, and the treatment of critical limb ischemia to maximize limb salvage. He is a member of the Research Committee for the American Venous Forum, the Scientific Program Committee for the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery and the editorial board for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.
Vickie R. Driver, DPM, MS is the Director of Clinical Research at the Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR) at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and Chief of the National Center for Limb Preservation at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. Dr. Driver previously served as Chief of the Limb Preservation Service, Department of Surgery at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington and served as Chair of the Northwest Limb Preservation Conference. One of the founding faculty members of the University of Washington Wound Care Certification program, Dr. Driver has acted as principal investigator in over 30 clinical research trials. She has written and reviewed articles in leading journals of wound care and diabetes management and has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally on topics of wound care, diabetes and limb preservation.
Allen Holloway, M.D. is the Director of Burn Outpatient Services for the Arizona Burn Center and the Director of the Vascular Lab at the Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. He serves on several editorial advisory boards including WOUNDS and is President-Elect of the Wound Healing Society. He lectures nationally on wound care and burn healing and his clinical practice is in the areas of vascular disease, wound healing and burn care. Dr. Holloway’s research interests are primarily directed toward clinical evaluation and testing of products directed toward the improved healing of wounds. This includes pharmaceuticals, biological devices and physical devices. Clinical trials are usually ongoing with one or more of these products and involve patients from either the Vascular or Burn Services at Maricopa Medical Center.
Cathy Thomas Hess, BSN, RN, CWOCNis the President of Wound Care Strategies, Inc, a national consulting company strategically assisting clients with innovative, versatile and personalized solutions in the wound, skin and ostomy care arena. She is the author of TheClinical Guide to Skin and Wound Care (6th ed), the most widely read comprehensive resource on chronic wounds and products for that field of care. She has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of Ostomy/Wound Management for nine years, is an Editorial Advisory Board Member of Advances in Skin and Wound Care, Clinical Editor of Wound Care InfoLink within the Advances in Skin and Wound Care journal, relinquishing that responsibility to become the Clinical Editor of Advances in Skin and Wound Care as of April 2000. She was Clinical Editor of Resources in Wound Care: 1998 Directory and 1999 Directory, and Chairperson for the national Wound Care Symposium for the Case Management Professional.
Lisa Corbett, APRN, MSN, CS, WOCNhas more than 15 years of experience in wound care consultation, practice, education, publication, and research. She is a partner in CT Clinical Nursing Associates, LLC, offering advanced practice wound care consultation to clients in home care, long term care, and acute care and is an Advanced Practice Nurse at the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Hartford Hospital. She is a former recipient of the AAWC Distinguished Member Award for her leadership as Co-Chair of the Government and Regulatory Affairs Task Force and for her work on this Task Force’s first major project, development of an Evidence Based Algorithm for Venous Ulcer Care. She is a co-author of the Secrets Series book, “Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing” and is active in clinical trials for wound healing products.
About Derma Sciences, Inc.
Derma Sciences, Inc. provides a full range of skin care; wound management and specialty securement devices that are used primarily in the professional markets, specifically hospitals, nursing homes and home care settings. For more information about Derma Sciences, Inc., visit its home page on the Internet at http://www.dermasciences.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,”“will,”“expect,”“believe,”“anticipate,”“intend,”“could,”“estimate” or “continue” are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned, that certain important factors may affect the Company’s actual results and could cause such results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements which may be made in this release or which are otherwise made by or on behalf of the Company. Factors which may affect the Company’s results include, but are not limited to, product demand, market acceptance, impact of competitive products and prices, product development, completion of an acquisition, commercialization or technological difficulties, the success or failure of negotiations and trade, legal, social and economic risks. Additional factors that could cause or contribute to differences between the Company’s actual results and forward-looking statements Include but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
