ACell, Inc. and Medline Industries, Inc. jointly announced today that Medline has signed an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement for ACell’s MatriStem™ Wound Care Matrix. Under the agreement, ACell will manufacture and Medline will market and distribute the products.
ACell’s MatriStem regenerative medicine technology is a naturally occurring bioscaffold derived from porcine tissue. When MatriStem is placed onto a wound, it is resorbed and replaced with new native tissue where scar tissue would normally be expected. MatriStem devices, currently available in sheet and powder form, can be used in a broad range of medical applications such as wound care, general surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, urology and plastic and reconstructive surgery.
MatriStem Wound Care Matrix facilitates the healing process and is used on partial and full-thickness wounds such as diabetic, venous, arterial and pressure ulcers, and first and second-degree burns. The infected foot ulcer is the most common reason for hospitalization among patients with diabetes, resulting in over 200,000 days of inpatient care. Diabetes related amputations cost the health care system approximately $3 billion a year. Wound care devices, home health care and hospital costs associated with wound care, cost the U.S. healthcare system over $7 billion in 2007.
“As a well-established advanced wound care company, Medline will be an excellent partner for marketing and distributing our MatriStem Wound Care Matrix,” stated Jim DeFrancesco, President and CEO of ACell, Inc. “We look forward to utilizing our unique regenerative medicine technologies in future collaborative efforts with Medline for creating additional advanced wound care products.”
Jonathan Primer, President of Medline’s Wound Care Division, commented, “We are pleased to announce our exclusive agreement with ACell to market and distribute its proprietary MatriStem Wound Care Matrix. The MatriStem preclinical studies are innovative in the field of bioscaffolds and we look forward to partnering with ACell to continue the advancement of wound care research.”
Source: ACell
published: March 23, 2009 in: Companies, News, Products, Specialty