Co-author Disagrees With Statements Made in Honey Leg Ulcer Trial Press Release
       Editor’s Note: The following is a response to an Industry News piece published in the February 2008 issue of WOUNDS.
       Professor Peter Molan, PhD, co-author of the study titled, “Randomized clinical trial of honey-impregnated dressings for venous leg ulcers,” has released a statement refuting misleading impressions made in a press release concerning the trial. The study was of 368 patients with venous leg ulcers, randomly assigned to get either compression and a honey-based dressing or compression and “other” (defined as dressings the clinician deemed appropriate at the time, which included alginates, hydrogels, hydrocolloids, silver and iodine dressings). A recent press release on the study stated that honey is not likely to be effective for venous leg ulcers, that there were more adverse events in the honey arm, and that the honey arm was more expensive.
       What the paper published on this trial actually reported was that although the differences were not statistically significant, the honey arm gave better results than those in the control arm including improvement in healing, reduction of clinical infection, and lower total costs of care.
       Dr. Molan, in his statement, notes the following:
• The honey arm showed a 5.9% absolute increase in healing achieved at 12 weeks
• The honey arm showed a 9.6% improvement in mean reduction from baseline ulcer area
• Statistical significance could only be achieved if a 30% improvement in healing had been achieved in the routine leg ulcers included in this study (note: It has been noted in WOUNDS that a Cochrane review of leg ulcer management showed that no advanced wound care dressing including hydrocolloids, alginates, low-adhering dressings, and foams, applied under compression has been shown to effect venous ulcer healing)
• On non-routine leg ulcers recalcitrant to compression therapy, there is evidence that shows adding honey to the treatment regimen does improve healing (note: At the 2007 European Wound Management Association conference, another similar study, also on the management of leg ulcers with honey, was presented. This study recruited just over 100 patients, but included only those ulcers recalcitrant under compression for at least 6 months in duration and had at least 50% coverage in slough. The results, to be published in 2008, showed statistically improved healing and reduced infection)
• There were 23% fewer episodes of infection in the honey arm
• Including additional hospitalization time required by patients in the control arm, the average costs of the treatment in the honey arm were 5.8% lower
• Pain, which was cited as the greatest adverse event in both arms of the study, was not quantified as to the level of pain, and was only cited as the rationale for withdrawal in 2% of cases in the honey arm (note: The literature supports that some patients will experience transient stinging with honey applied to wounds, not unlike the transient stinging associated with common enzymatic debridement agents).
       To read Dr. Molan’s statement, please visit:
http://bio.waikato.ac.nz/honey/pdf/halt_statement.pdf

Hollister Wound Care Awarded Novation Contract
       Hollister Wound Care LLC (Libertyville, Ill) was awarded a Novation contract under the Novation New Technology Program for its products featuring TRIACT Technology.
       TRIACT technology is a scientific formulation comprised of 100% non-occlusive mesh, hydrocolloid particles, and a petrolatum-based formulation that allows pain free dressing removal, ultimately reducing trauma to both the wound bed and the patient.
       The TRIACT technology will be featured in Hollister’s Restore brand dressings, including the Restore Contact Layer, Restore Contact Layer Silver, Restore Adhesive Foam, Restore Non-Adhesive Foam, and the Restore Non-Adhesive Foam Silver.
       Visit http://www.hollister.com for more information.

Kane Biotech Manufactures Antibiofilm for Treatment of Chronic Wounds
       Kane Biotech Inc (Winnipeg, Canada) will retain BioVectra Inc (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) to manufacture clinical grade DispersinB^™ for the treatment of chronic wounds. DispersinB is an antibiofilm enzyme capable of both inhibiting and dispersing bacterial biofilms formed on medical devices as a result of frequent contaminants Staphylococcus epidermis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli.
       Kane Biotech continues evaluating the enzyme with and without other antimicrobial agents to develop a wound care therapy and a proprietary medical device coating.
       Visit http://www.kanebiotech.com for more information.

Nitric BioTherapeutics Launches Phase II Clinical Trial for Nitric Oxide
       Nitric BioTherapeutics Inc (Bristol, Pa) began a Phase II clinical trial for nitric oxide to be used to treat chronic wounds.
       Nitric oxide gas has a number of properties believed to be beneficial for healing wounds when applied topically. These properties include antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory action, regulation of collagen formation, and the ability to increase blood flow.
       Nitric BioTherapeutics anticipates that using nitric oxide for treating chronic wounds can potentially accelerate the time of healing and increase the quality of life for the patient.
       Visit http://www.nitricbio.com for more information.