KCI announces agreement to license Wright Medical Group's GRAFTJACKET for wound care

Jan 31 2011

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. announced today an agreement to license Wright Medical Group, Inc.'s GRAFTJACKET® brand for use in marketing the LifeCell™ acellular human dermal-based regenerative tissue matrix for wound applications such as diabetic foot ulcers and venous stasis ulcers. KCI's Active Healing Solutions™ business unit will sell the LifeCell™ regenerative tissue matrix under the GRAFTJACKET® brand name. Patients can be conveniently treated with GRAFTJACKET® Matrix as part of the overall treatment regimen, in a variety of care settings, including outpatient wound care clinics, physicians' offices, or as a hospital inpatient.

The addition of GRAFTJACKET® Matrix allows KCI to offer both negative pressure wound therapy and regenerative tissue matrix for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds, providing clinicians two leading modalities for treating patients across the wound healing continuum. KCI is already a market leader in negative pressure wound therapy for challenging wounds with the V.A.C.® Therapy System. GRAFTJACKET® Matrix may be used in conjunction with NPWT, such as V.A.C.® Therapy, providing a convenient option in caring for chronic wounds.

"Regenerative medicine plays a significant role in the practice of wound healing, and KCI stands at the forefront of that breakthrough," said Mike Genau, global president, KCI Active Healing Solutions™. "By bringing GRAFTJACKET® Matrix to the clinical community for the repair of challenging chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, KCI is responding to the physician's need to customize treatment options for patients' individual wounds."

In published clinical studies, GRAFTJACKET® Matrix provided physicians and their patients a treatment option that showed a higher probability of healing when used as part of the standard treatment regimen. A study showed that most diabetic foot ulcers can be successfully treated with one application of GRAFTJACKET® Matrix, offering significant potential savings for the patient and the health care system. Equally important, many insurers, including Medicare, cover the use of GRAFTJACKET® Matrix for chronic wounds.

GRAFTJACKET® Regenerative Tissue Matrix is indicated for repair or replacement of damaged or inadequate integumental tissue, such as diabetic ulcers, or for other homologous uses of human integument. Proprietary processing allows the body to accept GRAFTJACKET® Matrix and reduces the potential for a rejection response. GRAFTJACKET® Matrix provides immediate coverage to the wound and is readily repopulated with the patient's own cells and revascularized by the body. Ultimately, GRAFTJACKET® Matrix acts as a scaffold that allows the body to convert the matrix to functional host tissue in ulcer repair.

The agreement goes into effect immediately. During the next six months, Wright will transition out of its wound care sales of GRAFTJACKET® Matrix in the wound care sector as KCI increases its sales and marketing activities in these markets.

Source: Kinetic Concepts, Inc