Medcura's Hemostatic Agent LifeGel™ Wins 2024 Spine Technology Award
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Medcura, Inc., a leader in innovative hemostasis solutions that deploy patented biopolymer technologies to control surgical bleeding, is pleased to announce it has received a 2024/2025 Best Technology in Spine Award for LifeGel™ Absorbable Hemostatic Gel.
Medcura will formally accept the award at the North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting in Chicago this week. Presented by Orthopedics This Week, the Best Technology in Spine Award recognizes "inventors, engineers and others who chase the dream of advancing spine surgery — and pay for that dream with marathon engineering sessions and more than a few sleepless nights." The panel that selected LifeGel to receive the award includes outstanding spine surgeons and neurosurgeons such as: Juan Uribe, MD; Kris Radcliff, MD; Isaac Moss, MDCM, MASc, FRCSC; Stephen Hochschuler, MD; Michael Wang, MD, FACS; and Peter Derman, MD, MBA.
"The spine surgical bleeding market is ripe for disruption in this $1.1 billion segment of the $2.8 billion market for surgical hemostat agents," said Jim Buck, Chief Executive Officer at Medcura. "Spine surgery needs a transformational hemostatic technology and LifeGel is the first and only surgical hemostatic agent to receive an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation."
Matthew Dowling, PhD invented LifeGel, founded Medcura, and now serves as the company's Chief Scientific Officer and Director. Dr. Dowling bioengineered LifeGel to meet the challenges of hemostasis during spinal surgery. LifeGel — a clear, ready-to-use, fully hydrated, flowable hemostatic gel containing a proprietary combination of hydrophobically modified chitosan, cross-linked gelatin granules, inert copolymers and water — achieves hemostasis mechanically by coating the bleeding site via mucoadhesion.
Management of intraoperative bleeding during spinal surgery is critically important to preserve the operative field of view and reduce complications such as transfusions and hematomas, which can lead to increased time, cost, and patient risk. Products currently used for intraoperative bleeding during spinal surgery have been associated with deleterious side effects, and innovations are warranted.
Current flowable hemostatic agents routinely used in spinal surgery are known to swell. When used in confined anatomical spaces, they can potentially lead to post-operative neurologic deficits or even paralysis. Medcura's LifeGel mitigates these risks because it achieves hemostasis without swelling. Compared with approved flowable hemostatic agents, LifeGel offers additional benefits, including being highly cost-effective, immediately ready-to-use thereby reducing costly wastage, and complete with antimicrobial properties of its base, chemically inert polymer.
"Medcura is on a new wave of true innovation impacting hemostasis in a broad array of areas in medicine," said Dr. Dowling. "I am very proud of the Medcura team, which continues to work towards the advancement of biomaterials science to meaningfully improve how surgeons manage human bleeding in a variety of high-value surgical scenarios."
About Medcura
Medcura, Inc. is a commercial-stage medical device company developing versatile hemostatic products serving large surgical, medical, and consumer market opportunities. The Company's proprietary technology platform combines the use of safe, inert ingredients with patented chemistries, all aimed at introducing disruptively lower cost products capable of safely and effectively controlling bleeding across a broad spectrum of clinical applications. Medcura has received FDA Breakthrough Device Designations for LifeGel™, which controls surgical bleeding for spine surgeries, and LifeFoam™, a hemostatic agent for traumatic wounds. Learn more about Medcura's growing product line at www.medcurainc.com.
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References
LifeGel™ and its application tips are currently in development. All intended uses and/or indications for use for this medical device and its application tips have not been cleared or approved by the FDA.
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