YAVNE, Israel, June 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediWound Ltd. (Nasdaq:MDWD), a fully-integrated, biopharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative therapies to address unmet needs in severe burn and wound management, announces that the Company has been awarded an approximate $1 million grant by the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) in the Ministry of Economy for 2015. The grant is awarded in accordance with the Israeli law to promote industrial Research & Development and to support innovative technologies in Israel.
The funds will support the development of EscharEx™, MediWound's biopharmaceutical product for debridement of eschar in chronic and other hard-to-heal wounds, and NexoBrid®, MediWound's product for debridement of eschar in severe burns. This grant represents the first OCS funding support for EscharEx, which affirms the innovation and potential for EscharEx by the OCS and continues support for NexoBrid's on-going phase 3 clinical development programs to expand the use of NexoBrid to the U.S. and pediatric patients.
"We are thankful to the OCS for its ongoing support of our development programs in wound management. We are particularly pleased to receive this non-dilutive funding in support of our efforts to advance EscharEx in hard-to-heal wounds, as we believe it represents a significant opportunity in an area of great medical need. We believe there is a substantial market for EscharEx as more than 14 million people in the U.S. and Europe suffer from chronic wounds," noted Gal Cohen, President and Chief Executive Officer of MediWound.
"We are very excited about the potential for EscharEx to treat chronic wounds as results from our first Phase 2 study demonstrated efficacy in debriding long-lasting wounds in various etiologies such as diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure sores and other post-surgical or post-trauma hard-to-heal wounds. We are further encouraged by the opportunities for EscharEx, as there is a great medical need to effectively debride such wounds in a non-surgical but yet timely manner, as debriding the wound is a critical first step for healing and can provide better conditions to aid the variety of healing technologies for chronic wounds.
"Importantly, we believe leveraging the wealth of existing data gained throughout the development and approval of NexoBrid de-risks the EscharEx development program as EscharEx is based on the same propriety technology as NexoBrid. We look forward to completing enrollment of our second Phase 2 clinical trial with EscharEx in chronic wounds and to reporting top line data around the end of this year," concluded Mr. Cohen.
The OCS has supported MediWound since 2002, providing approximately $8.8 million in non-dilutive funding for the development of NexoBrid to date. In return, MediWound is committed to pay low single-digit royalties to the OCS based on product sales up to the total grants received plus the applicable accrued interest.
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, 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, was launched in Europe and is in Phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S. 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.
Contacts:
Sharon Malka
CFO
Mediwound
Sharon@mediwound.co.il
Anne Marie Fields
Senior Vice President
LHA
212-838-3777
afields@lhai.com