opportunity

The "within five months" indicative time for BARDA contract approvals is fast approaching, so it`s worth looking at the opportunity possible with Polynovos` BTM.

This is from a recent announcement from MTF, an organisation that supplies treated donor tissue for skin grafts in burns and other applications.

Source Press Release
Company Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation
Date June 19, 2013

The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) has announced the release of new sizes of its popular split thickness skin grafts, or STSG. The grafts are now available in sheet form, up to 16cm x 35cm, as opposed to long narrow strips that are commonly used. MTF is the first and only tissue bank in the country offering these wider grafts in ten convenient sizes, starting at 5 cm by 5 cm.

STSG grafts are used as a temporary dressing in partial thickness and full thickness burn wounds, acting as a protective barrier against environmental contaminants, promoting thermoregulation and controlling fluid loss. The new sheets support MTF’s mission by providing time–saving benefits to surgeons and decreasing discomfort for burn victims.

Health care professionals at the Burn Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina recently used the new large split thickness grafts to cover the back of a burn patient. Dr. Ashley Mooney, MD, was extremely pleased with the results. “The wide grafts cut the operative time by a third,” she said.

“The larger sheet grafts will allow us to have fewer seams, which means less scarring and better cosmetic outcomes, especially in highly visible areas of the body, such as arms and legs. It will also result in less contracture across joints, resulting in fewer revisions and less OR time for the patient and the surgeon,” noted Timothy A. Johnson, RN, at the Burn Center.

In addition to STSG, MTF also offers acellular dermal grafts FlexHD® and FlexHD® PLIABLE™. FlexHD PLIABLE, which is specifically designed for use in breast reconstruction procedures, is derived from a deeper cut into the dermis tissue, making it more supple and elastic. The uppermost layer of dermis and epidermis from FlexHD PLIABLE donors can then be used to make the new wider STSG sheets. This ability to obtain two grafts, STSG Sheets and FlexHD PLIABLE, from the same donor is in keeping with MTF’s commitment to maximize each gift of donated tissue.

MTF’s new STSG sheet grafts not only have the advantage of being both wider and of more consistent thickness than other grafts available on the market today, but are all available in both meshed and non-meshed configurations.

MTF provides STSG to over 50 burn centers and hospitals in the US and New Zealand. In 2012, MTF distributed 2,750 STSG grafts.

http://www.mtf.org/

The "proof of concept in humans" announcement on the 15th October 2012 treated a 132sq cm wound with Polynovos` BTM and much larger areas can be treated giving Polynovo the opportunity of replacing the donor skin market altogether. A point that BARDA will no doubt consider in its` delberations.

cheers