PNV - Banter and General Comments, page-12159

Hi Sam

I find it difficult to comment with any certainty on PolyMedics and it’s not made easier by the fact that it’s a private company.

The company’s main product is the synthetic dressing, Suprathel, which has been around for 20 years now. The main use for that product has been in second degree burns.

The product being tested in this new clinical trial is SupraSDRM, a biodegradable synthetic matrix said to combine the advantages of Suprathel’s membrane structure, which supports the wound healing process, with additional large pores that promote sprouting in blood vessels.

Both products are made from polylactic acid which is claimed to reduce PH which in turn is said to accelerate wound healing. SupraSDRM received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2017 but, according to PolyMedics, was only launched in the US last year. SupraSDRM has been promoted for use in chronic wounds and has a HCPCS code for use in physician offices, so launch may have been delayed until it had received that code.

I wouldn’t agree with the statement that PolyMedics’ products haven’t been taken up by doctors. An article on the company’s website states that the company has had 40-50% per annum growth over the past 5 years. Mid-last year, the company moved to a new, larger headquarters in Germany and also expanded to a larger premises in Georgia in the United States. US sales staff count a year ago was ~20.

It appears that PolyMedics is now keen to promote use of SupraSDRM in the treatment of severe burns. An oral presentation was made at the European Burns Conference last year titled Long-Term Outcomes after Treatment of Deep Dermal to Totally Dermal Burns with a Polylactide-Based Matrix (Supra SDRM® as Dermal Skin Substitute with Two-Sided Split-Skin Coverage.

It is unclear to me whether this head-to-head clinical trial, in full-thickness traumatic injury, surgical wounds, or excised full-thickness burns, is at the instigation of the US military or PolyMedics.

https://polymedics.com/us/more-spac...-pmi-relocates-to-new-premises-in-atlanta-ga/

https://polymedics.com/us/products/description-sdrm/

https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1991/4/3/30