Ondine Biomedical Inc (AIM:OBI) has revealed details in two statements of posters presented at the Infection Prevention Society Conference in Bournemouth, UK, this week that highlighted new research using its Steriwave nasal photodisinfection product.
In the first statement, the Canadian life sciences company noted that Steriwave used for a presurgical bundle including 2% chlorhexidine (CHG) body wash cloths reduced post-operative surgical site infections (SSIs) by 47% at one of Canada's largest hospitals, Vancouver General Hospital (VGH).
Nasal photodisinfection is a quick and simple method of decolonising the nose of dangerous pathogens using a combination of a photosensitizer and a specific wavelength of light.
The company said the retrospective, observational study measured the rate of post-surgical SSIs in over 6,000 patients who underwent both elective and non-elective cardiac, orthopaedic, vascular, spinal, or neurological surgeries between January 3, 2017, and May 1, 2019. The proportion of patients who developed SSIs was approximately half (0.8% vs 1.5%, P=0.01) among those who received nasal photodisinfection before surgery, when compared to those who did not.
All-cause crude mortality rate was cut by 59% (13.2 vs 32.2 deaths/1000 patients, P<0.001), and patients treated with nasal photodisinfection spent an average of four days less in hospital compared with non-treated patients (P<0.001), it added.
In the statement, Jason Hickok, Ondine Biomedical's VP, Medical and Clinical Affairs said: "This study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at VGH, confirms that nasal photodisinfection before surgery dramatically reduces the rate of SSIs across a broad range of surgery types. Patients treated with Ondine's nasal photodisinfection were discharged an average of four days earlier, reducing the risk of contracting a hospital-acquired infection, and allowing the hospital to care for more patients and therefore reduce surgical wait times. We commend the infection control staff and researchers at VGH for being early adopters of this innovation and adding Steriwave to their pre-operative standard of care."
A copy of the full research poster 'Surgical Site Infection Reduction With a Pre-surgical Bundle Including Nasal Photodisinfection and Chlorhexidine' can be downloaded here: https://ondinebio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IPS_VGH-Poster_FINAL.pdf.
Also highly effective against clinical MRSA
In a separate statement, Ondine Biomedical, highlighted new research showing that its photodisinfection technology is also highly effective against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates.
With more than a quarter of people colonized with Staphylococcus aureus in the nose and some of these carrying the MRSA type, there remains an unmet need for new therapies. Few new antibiotics are under development and alternative means of killing drug-resistant infections must be found. Light-activated compounds may provide an answer, the company noted.
The new research was conducted using 100 recent multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates obtained from patients presenting to a large tertiary care hospital also in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each isolate was selected for resistance to one or more major classes of antibiotics in widespread use today, and then subjected to Steriwave photodisinfection in vitro.
The study found that the photodisinfection treatment eliminated more than 99.9% of each isolate in only 60 seconds, irrespective of the isolate's antibiotic resistance.
Ondine Biomedical's VP, Medical and Clinical Affairs Hickok said: "Antibiotic resistance is one of the most dangerous developments in clinical medicine. Over 200 Americans and 78 Britons die each day from an untreatable hospital-acquired infection, and hundreds of patients more suffer from comorbidities and disfigurements of lifesaving revision surgeries and associated treatment. When we lose the antibiotic, we return to a way of life almost a century ago, where a scratched knee, or a minor burn could prove lethal. This research demonstrates the power of Steriwave photodisinfection is a modern photonic solution to topical disinfection without using antibiotics, without engendering resistance, and without causing pain or side effects to the patient."
A copy of the full research poster 'Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy Against Clinical Isolates of MRSA' can be downloaded here: https://ondinebio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IPS-2022-Poster-Ondine-aPDT-against-clinical-isolates-of-MRSA-FINAL.pdf.
Photodisinfection, also known as antimicrobial photodisinfection therapy (aPDT), combines a photosensitive compound with a specific wavelength of light. When illuminated, the photosensitiser forms reactive oxygen species that are highly destructive to bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Since photodisinfection is not an antibiotic it does not cause antibiotic resistance, making it an ideal technology to avoid overuse of antibiotics.
Pathogens that have developed resistance to antimicrobials are a significant global health challenge, and new solutions are desperately needed to combat them. An analysis published in the Lancet in 2022 found that 1.27 million deaths in 2019 were the direct result of drug-resistant bacterial infections, exceeding the number of deaths from malaria or AIDS.
Ondine's nasal photodisinfection technology has a CE mark for use in the EU and is approved in Canada and number of other countries, including the UK. In the US, Ondine recently completed a Phase 2 trial, forming part of the company's US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory application.