Results show a single, 5-minute treatment of nasal photodisinfection significantly reduces Staphylococcus aureus, a major cause of surgical site infections, in pre-surgical patients

• Top line results met primary endpoint and showed nasal photodisinfection eliminated or significantly decreased Staphylococcus aureus ( aureus) in 92% of carriers treated per protocol (P<0.001).
• All of the 319 subjects received a single, 5-minute nasal photodisinfection treatment.
• S. aureus is the primary pathogen associated with surgical site infections (SSIs).[i]
• No reportable adverse events.

Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON: OBI) announces that its Phase 2 BENEFIT-APDT clinical trial has met the primary endpoint of bacterial load reduction after nasal photodisinfection. Results from the study showed that nasal photodisinfection eliminated or significantly decreased S. aureus in 92% of carriers (P<0.001) immediately after treatment. There were no reportable adverse events or unexpected safety issues; treatment was found to be safe and well tolerated.

Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine Biomedical, commented, “As expected, photodisinfection had a strong antimicrobial outcome, which we believe, from our Canadian hospital experiences, will be beneficial to pre-surgical patients. Concluding our Phase 2 trial is a key milestone that satisfies our IPO commitment and puts us firmly on the path towards completing the US FDA regulatory process.”

The single-centre, BENEFIT-APDT open-label study was carried out at HCA Healthcare’s Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. A total of 319 pre-surgical patients were enrolled and tested for the presence of S. aureus in the nose. Patients were then treated with a single, 5-minute nasal photodisinfection treatment and then re-tested.

“We are pleased that the statistically significant results from the BENEFIT-APDT trial demonstrate the positive therapeutic effect of nasal photodisinfection,” said Jason Hickok, VP of Clinical & Medical Affairs. “This novel therapy has the potential to be an important new treatment option to combat surgical site infections.”

Lowering surgical site infection rates has been an elusive target for hospitals for many years. Up to 30% of the general population is nasally colonized with S. aureus,[ii] significantly increasing the risk of surgery-related infections. SSIs are the leading cause of readmissions to hospital following surgery, and approximately 3% of patients who contract an SSI die as a consequence of these infections.[iii] Post-operative infections occur in up to 300,000 patients per year in the United States and cost the US healthcare system tens of billions of dollars a year.[iv]

Nicolas Loebel, Ph.D., President of Ondine said, “Preventing SSIs with the use of a single, 5-minute treatment that is safe, non-toxic, and non-antibiotic immediately prior to surgery is a completely new paradigm for hospitals”..

Ondine’s nasal photodisinfection has a CE mark for use in the EU and is approved in Canada and several other countries under the name Steriwave™. In the US, it has received Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation and Fast Track status from the FDA and is currently undergoing clinical trials for regulatory approval. Ondine expects the full results of the Phase 2 trial to be available in November 2022.

[i] Klevens RM, Edwards JR, Richards CL, et al. Estimating healthcare associated infections and deaths in US hospitals, 2002. Public Health Rep 2007; 122:160e166.

[ii] Hidron AI, Edwards JR, Patel J, Horan TC, Sievert DM, Pollock DA, et al. NHSN annual update: antimicrobial-resistant pathogens associated with healthcare- associated infections: annual summary of data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006-2007. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:996 1011.

[iii] “Surgical Site Infections. PSNet Patient Safety Network, AHRQ. 2019.

[iv] “Surgical site infections are the most common and costly of hospital infections.” ScienceDaily. 2017.