Economic Model Demonstrates Hospital Cost Savings Using Collatamp G

Published Monday, March 02 2009

TORONTO – Mississauga-based Theramed Corporation has released an economic model demonstrating significant hospital cost benefits of using Collatamp G as a powerful adjunct to current standards of care in preventing costly and deadly surgical site infections (SSIs).

Surgical site infections are devastating to patient safety and hospital budgets, but relatively unknown to the public-at-large despite being the second most common cause of hospital adverse events.

Approximately 50,000 Canadians each year develop an SSI, doubling their risk of death, making them five times more likely to be readmitted to hospital and 60% more likely to require time in intensive care. On average SSI patients spend eight additional days in hospital.

Most often, media reports on hospital infections focus on the MRSA and C. difficile "superbugs" when, in fact, SSIs cost the cash-strapped Canadian healthcare system over $200 million and over 400,000 bed days annually.

Using Canadian SSI data as a benchmark, the model demonstrates that prophylactic use of Collatamp G in high-risk patient groups and high-risk surgeries delivers a cost benefit to hospitals even if their rates of infection are lower than typical Canadian rates. For instance, use of Collatamp G in high-risk patients results in break-even cost at the following procedural rates:

Cardiac surgery: 1.7%
Hip replacement surgery: 2.1%
Colorectal surgery: 5.6%

The economic challenges facing Canadian hospitals are well known, with budget deficits and service cutbacks becoming a way of life. In the face of this environment, the ability to reduce hospital costs, resource utilization, and free up hospital beds to decrease wait times while improving patient safety just makes sense.

We require innovative new ways of facing these challenges. Meaningful improvements in care and efficiency often result from adopting new paradigms. Collatamp G represents a new paradigm in the prevention of SSIs. A powerful antibiotic delivered locally directly to the site of infection risk, Collatamp G is clinically proven to reduce SSIs by a dramatic 50-85%. Used as an adjunct to "Safer Healthcare Now" guidelines in high-risk patients, Collatamp G provides a hospital cost benefit even at infection rates far below Canadian benchmark data.

About Collatamp G

For high-risk patients, Collatamp G, a fully-resorbable collagen sponge containing high doses of the proven antibiotic gentamicin, provides an important extra level of protection. Collatamp G is inserted into the surgical wound prior to closure and, over the following days, releases antibiotic directly to the site where it is needed, at doses high enough to kill even resistant bacteria.

This ability to deliver local antibiotics is a new approach available to surgeons and overcomes the major problem with IV antibiotics; the inability, due to toxicity concerns and side effects, to use high-enough doses to be effective. Also, in patients who are elderly or have diabetes, poor circulation often hinders the ability of the circulating IV antibiotic to get to the target site where it is actually needed.

For Further Information

Stephen McElroy
Chief Commercial Officer
Theramed Corporation
800-305-4441
smcelroy@theramed.com