12th Dec 2022 12:15
(Alliance News) - Ondine Biomedical Inc on Monday said it received regulatory approval from the Mexican Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks, known as Cofepris, for the use of its Steriwave photodisinfection technology.
The pharmaceutical company said Cofepris approved the sale and use of the treatment which eliminates nasal pathogens that can cause healthcare-associated infections.
It described the Mexican healthcare market as large, growing and of strategic interest to Ondine, as it provides coverage to 129 million citizens via public and private entities. It estimated the Mexican domestic market to be worth around USD6.75 billion, including up to 1 million foreign medical tourists in 2021.
"With significant global backlogs and high costs of various types of medical procedures, medical tourism is likely to be on the rise over the coming years, as foreign medical tourists seek state of the art medical services at affordable prices. The Mexican healthcare market is of strategic interest to our company," said Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Cross.
"The great advantage of our photodisinfection therapy is that it not only spares patients the trauma of an infection, but it can also reduce patient waiting lists by reducing hospital readmissions rates and decreasing the average length of stay in hospital."
Disinfection of the nose is recommended prior to surgery as pathogens in a patient's nasal cavities are a major cause of surgical site infections. A patient with a surgical site infection, or SSIs, will spend five days more in hospital on average, significantly increasing cost and time for patients' recoveries.
Pre-surgical use of Steriwave has resulted in a 78% reduction in SSIs among spine surgery patients at Vancouver General Hospital, one of Canada's largest tertiary care hospitals.
Last Monday, Ondine reported that it received funding of up to USD735,000 from Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, to be used to develop a prototype of its novel photodisinfection application for use in food production.
Shares in Ondine were up 3.1% to 22.18 pence each in London on Monday at midday.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Ondine Biomed