YAVNE, Israel, April 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediWound Ltd. (Nasdaq:MDWD), a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company bringing innovative therapies to address unmet needs in severe burn and wound management, announces that a poster presentation highlighting the positive clinical results achieved using NexoBrid™ as an effective enzymatic debridement for severe burns, titled "Early enzymatic debridement of deep dermal burns – first results in hands and preliminary results in face and lower extremity," was awarded "Best-in-Category in Wound Care Practice" among the hundreds of posters presented at the recent American Burn Association 47th Annual Meeting (ABA 2015).
The award-winning poster presented data from a prospective, randomized, single-center clinical trial on deep dermal hand, face and feet burns. The study notes the well-known difficulties regarding "correct initial judgment of the burn extent and depth, timing of surgery or limited accuracy of surgical debridement, which may lead to persistent or residual deformity and poor aesthetic outcome." Specifically, burned hands, faces and feet are particularly vulnerable due to their complex and filigree anatomical structures.
Lead author for the study, A. Schulz, M.D., University of Witten/Herdecke, Clinic for Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery, Burn Care Center, Cologne-Merheim Medical Center in Germany, concluded, "We found promising results for enzymatic debridement of burned hands, faces and feet with NexoBrid™ regarding healing potential without skin grafting leading to time efficient treatment and early rehabilitation. Long-term results in functional and aesthetic outcome and Quality-of-Life were at least equivalent to our current standard-of-care."
In addition, the Company announces that a poster presentation by Yaron Shoham, M.D., a practicing plastic surgeon and burn specialist at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheba, Israel, who also serves as Director of Medical Affairs at MediWound was awarded "First Place at the ABA 2015 Conference" for the poster titled, "Circulating Cell Free DNA as a Prognostic Factor in Burns and Smoke Inhalation."
"We congratulate Dr. Schulz on being awarded a Best-in-Category designation at this prestigious clinical conference. Data such as these in hands, feet and faces underscore the significant benefit of NexoBrid as a meaningful new entrant in the treatment paradigm for severe burns and serves to enhance awareness of this treatment modality to an audience of the world's leading burn specialists," said Gal Cohen, President and Chief Executive Officer of MediWound. "We are very proud of Dr. Shoham's award for First Place poster of the entire conference as it speaks to his expertise in the field, to the excellence of his research and to the quality of our medical team."
About the American Burn Association
The American Burn Association and its members dedicate their efforts and resources to promoting and supporting burn-related research, education, care, rehabilitation and prevention. The ABA has more than 3,500 members in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Members include physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, researchers, social workers, firefighters and hospitals with burn centers. The ABA's multidisciplinary membership enhances its ability to work toward common goals with other organizations on educational programs.
About NexoBrid
NexoBrid is an easy-to-use, topically-applied pharmaceutical product that removes dead or damaged tissue, known as eschar, in four hours without harming the surrounding healthy tissues. NexoBrid was granted marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency for the removal of eschar in adults with deep partial and full-thickness thermal burns, and was initially launched in Europe and Israel in 2014. Representing a new paradigm in burn care management, NexoBrid demonstrated in clinical studies, with statistical significance, its ability to non-surgically and rapidly remove the eschar earlier than other modalities, without harming viable tissues. The removal of eschar or "debridement" is a critical first step in the successful healing of severe burns and chronic and other hard-to-heal wounds. With the current standard-of-care (SOC), burn eschar is removed either with existing topical agents that have been found to be minimally effective or that take a significantly longer period of time to work, or by resorting to non-selective surgery, which is traumatic and may result in loss of blood and viable tissue.
About MediWound Ltd.
MediWound is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing novel therapeutics based on its patented proteolytic enzyme technology to address unmet needs in the fields of severe burns, as well as chronic and other hard-to-heal wounds. MediWound's first innovative biopharmaceutical product, NexoBrid, received marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency for removal of dead or damaged tissue, known as eschar, in adults with deep partial- and full-thickness thermal burns and has been launched in Europe and Israel. NexoBrid represents a new paradigm in burn care management, and clinical trials have demonstrated, with statistical significance, its ability to non-surgically and rapidly remove the eschar earlier and, without harming viable tissues. For more information, please visit www.mediwound.com.