Kinetic Concepts introduces V.A.C.Via Therapy System

Apr 26 2010

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI):

“This product represents a win for patients, a win for providers and a win for clinicians at the point of care”

With V.A.C.VIA™:

• Patients enjoy unparalleled outcomes of V.A.C.® Therapy
• Clinicians enjoy off-the-shelf accessibility with single-patient-use application
• Hospitals enjoy greater cost savings with decreased length-of-stay

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) today introduced V.A.C.Via™ Therapy System, a next-generation negative pressure wound therapy solution that offers clinicians and patients a mobile healing technology with the proven benefits and outcomes of V.A.C.® Therapy. V.A.C.Via's™ design and engineering brings to the marketplace a combination of the lightest, most mobile and most intuitive technology in this space, to date. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared V.A.C.Via™ in March. It is planned for global launch in the third quarter.

"For more than 15 years, V.A.C.® Therapy has transformed the treatment of wounds, and we have taken this great healing technology and 're-revolutionized' it with patients in mind," said Catherine Burzik, KCI president and CEO. "The best thing the people of KCI can do is continue to create technologies that deliver convenience, comfort and healthy outcomes for patients. I envision a future where KCI delivers healing solutions with even greater mobility, off-the-shelf accessibility and broader application across all wound types."

Single-Patient-Use, For-Sale Product Delivers Benefits for Patients, Clinicians

V.A.C.Via™ provides multiple benefits. For patients, its portable, discreet, easy-to-operate design enables them to return to home or work as seamlessly as possible. For providers, the for-sale model to the hospital may allow for earlier patient discharge by reducing or eliminating the need for insurance authorizations before discharge. Its single-click functionality also makes training and treatment easier than ever.

These benefits create potential cost benefits — a hallmark of V.A.C.® Therapy, which has demonstrated reduced length of stay, fewer readmissions and reduced need for surgeries. Reducing hospital length of stay can deliver significant cost benefits: the average cost of one hospital day at a community hospital can be more than $1,800.

"This product represents a win for patients, a win for providers and a win for clinicians at the point of care," according to Allen Gabriel, M.D., assistant professor, surgery, Loma Linda University Medical Center and chief of plastic surgery, Southwest Washington Medical Center. "It builds on V.A.C.® Therapy, taking its clinical efficacy and making it more convenient than ever. I've prescribed V.A.C.® Therapy for years and am convinced this is going to transform patient care. It simplifies the discharge process and that not only stands to increase the quality of care for patients, but also promises to reduce cost of care for hospitals."

V.A.C.Via™ Builds on Proven Clinical Research Behind Patented V.A.C.® Therapy System

V.A.C.® Therapy is the only wound care technology substantiated by 22 randomized controlled trials and more than 550 peer-reviewed articles. V.A.C.Via™ takes that science and makes the entire process—hospital to home—simpler, more mobile and outcome-driven.

Extremely lightweight, it increases mobility and provides a more discreet option for patients. Combined with virtually silent pump technology, all of V.A.C.Via's™ innovative features improve the continuity of care and patient compliance while delivering great outcomes through V.A.C.® Therapy's traditional mechanisms of action, including:

• Removing exudate and potentially infectious material
• Stimulating perfusion
• Reducing edema
• Promoting formation of granulation tissue
• Protecting the wound bed and providing a closed, moist wound-healing environment

"V.A.C.Via™ is about innovation and outcomes," said Mike Genau, global president, KCI's Active Healing Solutions™ business unit. "Its mobile form and simple functionality deliver to the marketplace what's needed the most: a solution that reduces hospital costs and length of stay while getting patients well on their way to recovery by relying on a remarkable and clinically proven healing technology, V.A.C.® Therapy."

V.A.C.Via™ advances KCI's leadership position in negative pressure technology and is part of a broader product portfolio strategy to extend negative pressure's healing benefits to more patients and conditions. It follows the global launch of ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure System in late 2009 and the European, Canadian and Australian launch of the Prevena™ Incision Management System - products that address open abdominal wounds and surgically closed incisions, respectively. KCI is ready to launch Prevena™ in the U.S., pending FDA clearance.