Canadian life sciences company Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON: OBI) has launched an eight-month evaluation of its Steriwave^™ nasal photodisinfection technology with the University of Alberta’s Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton, Canada. The evaluation will see around 800 cardiac surgery patients treated with the Steriwave technology in order to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs).

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most significant complications in cardiac surgery patients and are strongly associated with poorer prognosis.[i] SSIs can complicate up to 40% of cardiac surgery procedures, and result in substantially higher costs because of the need for additional treatments and extended patient recovery time[ii]. Nasal decolonization has been found to significantly decrease SSIs caused by the infection-causing pathogen S. aureus following cardiac procedures[iii].

Ondine Biomedical’s CEO Carolyn Cross said:

“Ondine is delighted to be working with one of the top cardiac healthcare facilities in the world to reduce the risk of infections following cardiac surgery. The reaction to the Steriwave nasal photodisinfection technology from the team at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute so far has been fantastic, and we look forward to sharing results from this evaluation next year. The consequences of an SSI following cardiac surgery can be catastrophic, and can be especially hard for a patient and their family if the procedure itself has been successful. We are so pleased that our Steriwave nasal photodisinfection treatment can help prevent these post-surgical infections and allow patients to focus on their recovery.”

Ondine’s nasal photodisinfection treatment kills all types of pathogens – viruses, bacteria, and fungi – without causing resistance and is already in use in major hospitals across Canada, including Vancouver General Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital.

In these hospital settings, pre-surgical use of Steriwave has resulted in significant improvement in post-surgical outcomes including lower rates of infection, reduced patient length of stay, fewer readmissions, and lower rates of antibiotic prescribing.[iv]^,[v],[vi] In Ondine’s US Phase 2 trial, a single, five-minute nasal photodisinfection treatment was found to eliminate or significantly decrease Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in 86% of carriers.[vii]

[i] Zukowska A, Zukowski M. Surgical Site Infection in Cardiac Surgery. J Clin Med. 2022 Nov 26;11(23):6991. doi: 10.3390/jcm11236991. PMID: 36498567; PMCID: PMC9738257.

[ii] Totty JP, Moss JWE, Barker E, Mealing SJ, Posnett JW, Chetter IC, Smith GE. The impact of surgical site infection on hospitalisation, treatment costs, and health-related quality of life after vascular surgery. Int Wound J. 2021 Jun;18(3):261-268. doi: 10.1111/iwj.13526. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

[iii] Lemaignen A, Armand-Lefevre L, Birgand G, Mabileau G, Lolom I, Ghodbane W, Dilly MP, Nataf P, Lucet JC. Thirteen-year experience with universal Staphylococcus aureus nasal decolonization prior to cardiac surgery: a quasi-experimental study. J Hosp Infect. 2018 Nov;100(3):322-328. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2018.04.023. Epub 2018 May 5.

[iv] Banaszek D, Inglis T, Tamir Ailon T, Charest-Morin R, Dea N, Fisher C, Kwon B, Paquette S, Street J. The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of photodynamic therapy in prevention of surgical site infection. The Spine Journal, Volume 19, Issue 9, Supplement, 2019, Page S138.

[v] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OBI/ottawa-hospital-presents-steriwave-study- results/15860312

[vi] Horan TC, Gaynes RP, Martone WJ, Jarvis WR, Emori TG. CDC definitions of nosocomial surgical site infections, 1992: a modification of CDC definitions of surgical wound infections. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1992;13(10):606–608.

[vii] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OBI/ondine-reports-full-results-from-phase-2-trial/15740894