Collagen Surgical Implant Releases Antibiotic

A biodegradable leave-behind implant aids in the treatment and prevention of post-surgical acquired infection in both hard and soft tissues.

The gentamicin surgical implant is a collagen-based sponge impregnated with the broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic, gentamicin. The product is indicated as an adjunct to systemic antibiotic therapy for the treatment and prevention of post-surgical acquired infection in both hard and soft tissues. The gentamicin surgical implant has been approved in 49 countries as a medicinal product or a medical device. Over 50 prospective clinical trials and published case reports have documented the safety and efficacy of the product over a broad variety of orthopedic, abdominal, colorectal, cardiothoracic, vascular, and neurosurgical procedures totaling over 7,500 patients.

The gentamicin surgical implant was developed using a proprietary drug delivery platform called CollaRx, indicated for the site-specific targeted delivery of a wide variety of medicines with particular emphasis on antibiotics and anesthetics. CollaRx was developed by Essex Chemis, an affiliated company of Schering-Plough (Kenilworth, NJ, USA), who subsequently sold the product rights to Innocoll (Ashburn, VA, USA), which has since assumed all sales, marketing, and distribution activities for the product.

"There is a substantial body of compelling evidence showing that our product can significantly reduce postoperative surgical site infections in open heart as well as many other surgical procedures, especially for those patients at increased risk,” said Dr. Michael Myers, president and CEO of Inocoll. ”Surgical site infection can be a severe and potentially devastating complication after surgery and we believe that the medical and economic benefits of our product are both important and significant.”


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Schering-Plough
Innocoll