Ondine Biomedical’s Steriwave antimicrobial to be rolled out in eight new healthcare facilities

Ondine Biomedical (LSE: OBI) has announced that its Steriwave nasal photodisinfection and chlorhexidine skin decolonisation technology will be deployed in eight new healthcare facilities worldwide, including six hospitals.

The commercial deals are paid adoptions which had begun or were agreed to before the end of February.

The first three are at hospitals in Spain and will service a paid pilot group undergoing elective orthopedic procedures.

They are reported to be the first sign-ups of Steriwave through Ondine’s distribution partner in Spain.

The other deployments are at health facilities across Canada and include Sturgeon Community Hospital in Alberta where Steriwave will be used in the reduction of surgical site infections for patients undergoing breast reconstruction surgeries and elective orthopedic procedures.

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in British Columbia will also use the technology to reduce healthcare-associated infections in patients undergoing hip and knee surgeries, while two orthopedic surgeon practices in the Toronto area will offer it on a patient-pay basis for elective procedures.

The new deal brings the total number of hospitals using Steriwave to 22, representing a 38% increase year-to-date and nearly quadruple that of a year ago.

Ondine said the increase in hospital deployments addresses a growing need to reduce avoidable costs in an era of rising antibiotic resistance.

Expanding use

In addition to the new sign-ups, The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) has confirmed it will expand its use of Steriwave, building upon the success of pilot programs and a cost-benefit assessment within spinal surgeries.

The hospital is a leading Canadian academic health sciences centre caring for 1.2 million patients across eastern Ontario.

The expansion means that Steriwave will be used across an additional site, and also extends its application from spinal surgeries to include the hospital’s orthopedic and vascular surgery patients.

On an annual basis, Steriwave will now be used before approximately 2600 surgical procedures at TOH, representing a threefold increase from the pilot program.

Ondine said discussions are ongoing with medical device distributors to further expand the commercial reach of Steriwave.

Broad-spectrum antimicrobial

Steriwave is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial providing targeted decolonisation in a safe and fast manner.

It is designed to eliminate infection-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi in the nose, which are a leading cause of surgical site infections.

Nasal decolonisation has been shown to reduce the risk of infection among high-risk patients who are undergoing surgical procedures; are immuno-compromised; are in intensive care units; or those requiring long-term and frequent healthcare services.

A recent study reported a net saving approaching $2,930 per spinal surgery patient treated with Steriwave.

Despite case complexity increasing over the study period, the post-surgical infection rate dropped by 67%, resulting in estimated annual cumulative institutional savings of $2.49 million.

The study also showed that nasal photodisinfection could reduce hospital length of stay, re-admissions and antibiotic use.