Baxter in-licenses Innocoll gentamicin surgical implant

Baxter Healthcare as entered into a licensing agreement with fellow USA-based Innocoll Pharmaceuticals for exclusive rights to market and distribute the latter's gentamicin surgical implant in the USA. This will be the first and only biodegradable, leave-behind antibiotic surgical sponge used as an adjunct (add-on) therapy for prevention and treatment of surgical site infections in America. This agreement is expected to add to Baxter's biosurgical portfolio by giving surgeons an innovative option to help reduce risk of post-operative complications of SSIs during surgery.

The collagen-based implant is saturated with a high concentration of gentamicin, designed to deliver the antibiotic directly to the target tissue while maintaining low levels of the drug in order to potentially reduce infection during and after surgery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SSIs remain an ongoing problem for surgeons and are a burden on patients and the health care system, affecting more that 500,000 patients a year in the USA.

The product was developed using Innocoll's proprietary, collagen-based drug delivery technology, CollaRx, and is indicated outside the USA as an adjunct to systemic antibiotic therapy for the treatment of localized, deep tissue infections and the prevention of SSIs in both hard and soft tissues.