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• Latest news and forthcoming events
Revolutionary wound treatment for foot ulcers
Ark Therapeutics plc is seeking a suitable Japanese partner for their product 'Kerraboot'. It is already CE marked in Europe and has been listed with the FDA, allowing it to be marketed in the US. Marketing has just started in the UK.
Kerraboot® is a novel wound dressing device for leg and foot
ulcers. It is CE marked in Europe and has been listed with the FDA,
allowing it to be marketed in the US. In May 2004 UK Drug Tariff
Approval was obtained and GPs are now prescribing it.
Kerraboot® is marketed as a novel wound dressing device for
the management of leg and foot ulcers, offering significant benefits
in terms of savings of nurse time, less painful procedure on dressing
changes and reduction of odour. In assessment programmes carried
out by Ark, both patients and healthcare workers rated Kerraboot®
significantly better than alternative dressings It was also considered
easy to use and very convenient. The time taken to change the device
was approximately 70% less than that required to change a conventional
dressing. Kerraboot® also caused less pain on changing than
conventional dressings and the need to remove calluses from around
the ulcers was reduced. It largely eliminated unpleasant ulceratic
odours. Favourable effects in terms of healing were demonstrated
and, in particular, significant healing was seen in ulcers associated
with diabetes. No significant adverse reactions relating to the
product were observed.
Clinical condition - Leg and foot ulcers generally present
as open sores, and frequently become infected, causing a strong,
unpleasant and embarrassing odour. They are difficult to heal and
in the most severe cases can lead to amputation. They can be caused
initially by local problems in blood vessels or nerve damage and
are frequently associated with patients who suffer from diabetes.
Hospital treatment of the ulcer can include regular removal of surrounding
hard skin build-up (callus) and often painful redressing of the
ulcer by a trained healthcare professional up to three times a day.
Mechanism of action - Fluid from leg and foot ulcers, known
as exudate, contains substances which inhibit natural growth factors
(notably VEGF) from healing the wound. Kerraboot® works by soaking
up and isolating the exudate, whilst maintaining a warm, moist and
protected environment around the ulcer. This combination facilitates
growth of healthy new blood vessels and tissue in the ulcer bed
and limits the formation of calluses. Healthy new vascular tissue
helps to fight infection and promotes healing of the skin.
Commercialisation - Kerraboot® has been launched in
the UK using a small contracted salesforce. Commercial options for
the US and other European markets are currently being explored.
In smaller European countries and ROW territories such as Japan
Ark expects to out-licence Kerraboot® to existing distributors
or companies currently promoting wound care or foot related products.
Estimated market - There is a total market of 1.3 million
diabetic and venous leg and foot ulcer sufferers in the US and Europe.
Ark is initially targeting the diabetic market and patients with
venous ulcers who cannot tolerate the standard treatment of compression
bandaging, of whom there are approximately 620,000 patients in the
US and Europe. The venous leg ulcer market is twice as large as
the diabetic market in terms of patient numbers, and there is an
existing demand for better dressings in a significant proportion
of cases. Trial results have indicated that both healthcare workers
and patients consider Kerraboot™ offers a significant benefit
over current wound management approaches.
Additional Information
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Product Brochure: English version | Japanese version
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Abstract ‘Management
of neuropathic and neuroischaemic leg and foot ulcers: A preliminary
assessment of a novel wound dressing device; the Kerraboot®'
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Abstract ‘Healing
of Neuropathic Foot Ulcer using a Novel ‘Wound Boot’ (Kerraboot®)'
• Please contact
us for copies of the following:
‘The Kerraboot®: A novel wound dressing device for the
management of leg and foot ulcers’ by R Leigh, S Barker;
N Murray, SJ Hurel (Practical Diabetes International January/February
2004 Vol. 21 No. 1).
‘Moist wound healing: a review of evidence, application
and outcome’ by Debbie Sharman (The Diabetic Foot, Autumn
2003 Vol. 6 No. 3)
‘Malodorous wounds – taking the patient’s perspective
into account’ by A. Hack (Journal of Wound Care, September
2003, Vol. 12, No. 8)
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