MiMedx Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDXG) (“MIMEDX” or the “Company”), a transformational placental biologics company, today announced receiving a $4.6 Million award to evaluate PURION® processed Dehydrated Human Amnion Chorion Membrane (DHACM) as an advanced treatment option for wound and burn care.
The award from the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), a 501(c)(3) biomedical technology consortium collaborating under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, is sponsored and will be managed by the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) to advance medical treatments for combat wounds and burns.
Advanced wound and burn treatment approaches that can be applied quickly and easily in military relevant environments are needed to provide better outcomes for U.S. Armed Forces personnel. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Burns, burn injuries accounted for almost 10% of all combat casualties suffered by frontline military personnel during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Despite best medical efforts, the mortality rate is dramatically higher for the warfighters who cannot be evacuated quickly from the field to higher-level trauma facilities, as the management of thermal wounds and combat related burn casualties can be very challenging in the deployed environment.
“As a former U.S. Army Green Beret and Medical Corps Officer, I saw firsthand the urgent need for improved wound and burn treatment,” noted F. Raymond Ortega, MD, MBA, FACS, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives R&D, at MIMEDX. “This award will be used to advance the clinical understanding of DHACM, specifically in treating acute injuries and preventing initially partial-thickness burns from deteriorating to full-thickness burns, which can be life threatening. We also hope to leverage these data to understand how DHACM may reduce morbidity, limit the need for additional skin grafting, and expedite return to duty.”
To address combat and burn injuries, NMRC funded the award that will be directed toward research evaluating wound healing and burn conversion prevention capabilities of DHACM. The University of Arizona will lead pilot and pivotal randomized controlled trials to test study design, safety, and efficacy of wound healing. The clinical pilot study and the pivotal randomized controlled trial for burn conversion prevention will be conducted by the University of Miami.
“Following a solicitation process for Advanced Biomedical Product Development proposals in the area of Combat Casualty Wound and Infection Care in support of Naval Operations, MIMEDX was selected for an award to accelerate essential pre-clinical and clinical research that may offer improved burn care and innovative treatment for the warfighter,” said Mr. Thomas Dunn, Acting Program Manager for Naval Advanced Medical Development “There is a need to identify novel treatments that can demonstrate clinical effectiveness, accommodate logistical requirements, and, importantly, improve survival and convalescence rates for those suffering from challenging combat-related wounds and burns. Collaborating with industry and academia will enable development of state-of-the-art technologies and materials that promise to improve treatment outcomes and elevate the standard of care.”
“We have long recognized the immense potential and demonstrated benefits of placental biologics in a broad range of clinical settings and disease states,” said Timothy R. Wright, MIMEDX Chief Executive Officer. “It is a privilege to serve our nation through science and collaboration with academia and the U.S. Navy — utilizing our demonstrated expertise in placental biologics to support their goal of improving treatment for the service members who risk their lives for the sake of our safety and security.”
