COLUMBIA, Md. and MUNDELEIN, Ill., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ACell, Inc. and Medline Industries, Inc. jointly announced today that Medline has signed an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement for ACell’s MatriStem(TM) Wound Care Matrix. Under the agreement, ACell will manufacture and Medline will market and distribute the products.
ACell’s MatriStem regenerative medicine technology is a naturally occurring bioscaffold derived from porcine tissue. When MatriStem is placed onto a wound, it is resorbed and replaced with new native tissue where scar tissue would normally be expected. MatriStem devices, currently available in sheet and powder form, can be used in a broad range of medical applications such as wound care, general surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, urology and plastic and reconstructive surgery.
MatriStem Wound Care Matrix facilitates the healing process and is used on partial and full-thickness wounds such as diabetic, venous, arterial and pressure ulcers, and first and second-degree burns. The infected foot ulcer is the most common reason for hospitalization among patients with diabetes, resulting in over 200,000 days of inpatient care. Diabetes related amputations cost the health care system approximately $3 billion a year. Wound care devices, home health care and hospital costs associated with wound care, cost the U.S. healthcare system over $7 billion in 2007.
“As a well-established advanced wound care company, Medline will be an excellent partner for marketing and distributing our MatriStem Wound Care Matrix,” stated Jim DeFrancesco, President and CEO of ACell, Inc. “We look forward to utilizing our unique regenerative medicine technologies in future collaborative efforts with Medline for creating additional advanced wound care products.”
Jonathan Primer, President of Medline’s Wound Care Division, commented, “We are pleased to announce our exclusive agreement with ACell to market and distribute its proprietary MatriStem Wound Care Matrix. The MatriStem preclinical studies are innovative in the field of bioscaffolds and we look forward to partnering with ACell to continue the advancement of wound care research.”
About ACell
ACell, headquartered in Columbia, MD, offers a range of medical devices based on its patented and proprietary extracellular matrix technologies. MatriStem devices have received FDA clearances for applications in wound care, soft tissue repair, and general surgery. The devices are manufactured in ACell’s cGMP facility based in Lafayette, IN. For more information on ACell, visit our website, www.acell.com.
About Medline
Medline, headquartered in Mundelein, IL, manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, home care dealers and agencies and other markets. Total revenue for Medline in 2007 exceeded $2.86 billion. Meeting national and international quality standards, Medline is FDA QSR compliant and ISO 13485 certified. Medline serves on major industry quality committees to develop guidelines and standards for medical product use, including the FDA Midwest Steering Committee, AAMI Sterilization and Packaging Committee, and various ASTM committees. For more information on Medline, visit our website, www.medline.com.
CONTACT: Rodney W. Bosley, Jr., Senior Vice President of ACell, Inc.,
+1-410-953-8515
Web site: http://www.acell.com/
http://www.medline.com//
