Ondine to Participate in Vancouver General Hospital Infection Control Quality Improvement Project

Ondine Biomedical Inc. announces that it has agreed to supply Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) with Ondine's MRSAid Photodisinfection System for nasal pathogen decolonization as part of a 13-month infection control quality improvement project (QIP) being conducted at the hospital.

This project, championed by Dr. Elizabeth Bryce, regional medical director of infection control for Vancouver Coastal Health, is being undertaken with the objective of reducing the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs) in selected surgical populations. Patients treated under this initiative will include those undergoing cardiac, spinal, orthopedic, thoracic, vascular, breast reconstruction, and neurological surgeries. The QIP, which is being sponsored by VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation funding of approximately $675,000, will focus on pre-surgical pathogen decolonization using photodisinfection of the nasal passages and full body chlorhexidine wipes for all patients treated under this initiative.

"We are excited to be collaborating on this QIP which will utilize MRSAid, Ondine's non-antibiotic nasal pathogen decolonization system," stated Dr Bryce. "Surgical site infections are responsible for longer patient recovery times and significant costs to the health care system. In certain cases, these infections can result in patient mortality due to the presence of highly antibiotic resistant pathogens."

"Photodisinfection provides a rapid, powerful antibacterial modality that does not generate bacterial resistance," says Dr. Cale Street of Ondine. "The 10-minute MRSAid procedure is undertaken at the hospital at the time of preparation for surgery and represents a promising approach to decolonization of acute care patients in healthcare facility settings. The MRSAid Photodisinfection System is designed to reduce hospital-acquired infections among high-risk patients while eliminating patient compliance and antibiotic resistance concerns associated with currently used topical antibiotics."

Ondine is developing non-antibiotic therapies for the treatment of a broad spectrum of bacterial, fungal and viral infections. The Company is focused on developing leading edge products utilizing its patented light-activated technology, primarily for the healthcare-associated infection (HAI) market. Photodisinfection provides broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy without encouraging the formation and spread of antibiotic resistance. The company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a research and development laboratory in Bothell, Wash.