[December 15, 2014] |
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VitaThreads LLC Announces a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Grant Award by the National Institutes of Health for Study of the VitaSuture Wound Management System (VWMS)
VitaThreads LLC today reported that the National Institute of General
Medical Sciences1 has awarded a Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Phase I Grant for the study of the VitaSuture
Wound Management Systems (VWMS). VitaThreads will collaborate with Kevin
Smith, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery, Division of
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of North Carolina
(UNC) Chapel Hill. The objective of the Phase I Grant, entitled, "Fibrin
Sutures for Non-scarring Wound Closure" will be to optimize the
performance characteristics of VWMS.
Dr. Smith commented, "I'm excited to collaborate with VitaThreads as
part of this SBIR Phase I Grant award. Facial suture technology has not
appreciably advanced over the past many years and I believe that devices
which enable rapid, scar-free healing offer the best clinical option for
patients undergoing facial wound repair for aesthetic procedures. The
data I have seen from VitaThreads' VWMS technology suggests an
opportunity to achieve this objective. I look forward to working with
VitaThreads to further develop VWMS and seeing this device enter the
clinic."
VitaThreads previously reported that the company had met the primary
endpoint of incision closure and secondary histological endpoints in
pre-clinical in-vivo animal studies. VWMS demonstrated successful
closure of evaluated wounds with no device-linked complications,
complete absorption of the suture material within 14 days, and minimal
histological evidence of inflammation as compared to commercial suture
controls. Review by a board-certified histopathologist revealed less
accompanying fibrosis and inflammation during suture absorption and
wound healing than commercial suture controls. Mechanical testing of
VWMS demonstrated superior break strength by a factor of as much as 2x
over commercial suture controls.
About Kevin L. Smith, MD
Dr. Kevin L. Smith practices n Charlotte, North Carolina with Charlotte
Plastic Surgery and is a Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Smith is a
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American
Society of Plastic Surgery, and the American Society of Plastic Surgery.
He received his A.B. degree in Psychology from Princeton University and
then went on to earn an M.Sc. degree in Biology at George Washington
University. He studied medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School,
completing both his general surgical internship and 4 year residency at
Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Smith completed a further 3 year
plastic surgery residency at Eastern Virginia Graduate School of
Medicine and then went on to a 1 year fellowship the Department of
Orthopedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University where he focused on
hand surgery. Dr. Smith serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the
Society of Medical Aestheticians and sits on the Board of Directors of
the Physicians for Peace Foundation.
Previous Announcement
On June 14, 2014, VitaThreads Announced Meeting Primary and Secondary
Endpoints in Pre-Clinical Studies Demonstrating Effectiveness of the
VitaSuture Wound Management System (VWMS)
About the Facial Aesthetic Market
Facial aesthetic repair is a subset of the US aesthetic skin closure
market, representing over 5.8M reconstructive surgeries and 1.6M
elective cases annually2. The facial aesthetic repair segment
represents over 620,000 surgical procedures annually emphasizing
blepharoplasty, rhytidectomy, and rhinoplasty. Current patient out of
pocket costs represent $3,000-7,000 per procedure and with frequent
additional costs associated with treatments for the reduction of scar
(estimated to occur in over 10% of surgeries3) to improve
post-operative appearance.
About VitaThreads, LLC
Founded in 2012, VitaThreads LLC, utilizing intellectual property
exclusively licensed on a world-wide basis from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (WPI) is committed to revolutionizing wound healing through
its proprietary fibrin microthread technology, VitaSuture Wound
Management System (VWMS). Fibrin, a natural substance which occurs
during the wound healing process, is rapidly and readily absorbed by the
body. VitaThreads leverages the properties of fibrin in its flagship
product, VitaSuture. VitaSuture is intended to provide clinicians an
ideal aesthetic result, closing low-tension incision wounds with a
rapidly absorbing, non-inflammatory suture. VitaThreads will initially
target the cosmetic surgery market, where high-visibility procedures
require an uncompromising attention to the quality of surgical closure.
1 The National Institute of General Medical Sciences is a
sub-group of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
2 American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2013 Plastic Surgery
Statistics Report. ASPS National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery
Procedural Statistics
3 De Blacam C, Colakoglu S, Momoh A, Lin S, Tobias A, Lee B.
Early Experience with Barbed Sutures for Abdominal Closure in Deep
Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction. ePlasty 2012:
12 Parell G, Becker GD. Comparison of Absorbable With Nonabsorbable
Sutures in Closure of Facial Skin Wounds. Arch Facial Plast Surg.
2003;5(6):488-490. doi:10.1001/archfaci.5.6.488. Guyuron B, Vaughan C. A
comparison of absorbable and nonabsorbable suture materials for skin
repair. Plast Reconstr Surg.1992;89(2):234-236. Vital V, Printza A.
Cartilage-sparing otoplasty: our experience. J Laryngol Otol
2002;116:682e5. Thomas SS, Fatah F. Closed anterior scoring for
prominent-earcorrection revisited. Br J Plast Surg 2001;54:581e7.
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