thedrifter
03-24-08, 08:06 AM
VCU-created blood clotting product nears Army OK
Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 - 07:51 PM Updated: Mar 23, 2008 - 08:56 PM
Richmond, VA - By April, a blood-clotting product created by Virginia Commonwealth University scientists could win the Army's approval for battlefield use.
The decision on WoundStat hinges on testing by the Army Institute of Surgical Research, which studies combat care and products for injured soldiers. A test of five products found that WoundStat was the sole product found effective "100 percent of the time."
Nearly 50 percent of battlefield deaths is the result of major blood loss, the institute said.
TraumaCure, the Bethesda, Md., company that holds the license to sell WoundStat, said it will have produced by the end of March enough WoundStat for every soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A contract with the Army could generate about $5 million in sales for TraumaCure. Some of those proceeds would go to VCU and the scientists who developed WoundStat in 2004.
Devinder S. Bawa, chief executive officer of TraumaCure, said his company is confident it will win the contract and can meet the Army's needs. The Navy, which supplies the Marines, is also studying the same five products, Bawa said.
The packets come with a perforated top that can be opened with one hand or the teeth.
TraumaCure worked with Special Forces medics to design the package coloring and labeling so it can be seen with night-vision goggles and can be used under enemy fire or in inclement weather.
In the Army institute, research attempted to simulate battlefield trauma using pigs. A "femoral artery injury" that mimics a bullet wound was created, and each of the products was applied after 45 seconds of bleeding. When possible, two applications of each product was applied.
"WoundStat appears to be the most effective treatment," the study's authors found. The pigs treated with WoundStat lost the least amount of blood post-treatment, the study found.
TraumaCure is also working on selling WoundStat for emergency response crews and hospitals. It received approval in September from the Food and Drug Administration.
Ellie
Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 - 07:51 PM Updated: Mar 23, 2008 - 08:56 PM
Richmond, VA - By April, a blood-clotting product created by Virginia Commonwealth University scientists could win the Army's approval for battlefield use.
The decision on WoundStat hinges on testing by the Army Institute of Surgical Research, which studies combat care and products for injured soldiers. A test of five products found that WoundStat was the sole product found effective "100 percent of the time."
Nearly 50 percent of battlefield deaths is the result of major blood loss, the institute said.
TraumaCure, the Bethesda, Md., company that holds the license to sell WoundStat, said it will have produced by the end of March enough WoundStat for every soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A contract with the Army could generate about $5 million in sales for TraumaCure. Some of those proceeds would go to VCU and the scientists who developed WoundStat in 2004.
Devinder S. Bawa, chief executive officer of TraumaCure, said his company is confident it will win the contract and can meet the Army's needs. The Navy, which supplies the Marines, is also studying the same five products, Bawa said.
The packets come with a perforated top that can be opened with one hand or the teeth.
TraumaCure worked with Special Forces medics to design the package coloring and labeling so it can be seen with night-vision goggles and can be used under enemy fire or in inclement weather.
In the Army institute, research attempted to simulate battlefield trauma using pigs. A "femoral artery injury" that mimics a bullet wound was created, and each of the products was applied after 45 seconds of bleeding. When possible, two applications of each product was applied.
"WoundStat appears to be the most effective treatment," the study's authors found. The pigs treated with WoundStat lost the least amount of blood post-treatment, the study found.
TraumaCure is also working on selling WoundStat for emergency response crews and hospitals. It received approval in September from the Food and Drug Administration.
Ellie