UK Health Watchdog NICE Recommends Urgo Medical New Lower Limb Ulcer Treatment Which Could Prevent 3,000 Amputations a Year

Interactive Wound Dressing UrgoStart is Proven to Reduce the Healing Time of Leg Ulcers and Diabetic Foot Ulcers 

LONDON, Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new treatment option for venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers that could prevent more than 3,000¹ diabetes-related amputations is recommended by NICE² (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), following a comprehensive review of ground-breaking clinical studies in addition to expert opinion and advice.

At any one time 115,000 people in the UK have a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU),^3,4 and each year 278,000 people are treated for venous leg ulcers (VLU).⁵ Leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers take an average of 200 days to heal.⁶

Using UrgoStart instead of a non-interactive dressing closes 60% more wounds,⁷ which has a huge positive impact on the person's quality of life, NHS resources and the local health economy. If half of the people with a venous leg ulcer were treated with UrgoStart there would be an annual cost saving of £75 million to the NHS.^1,5 If half of the people with a diabetic foot ulcer were treated with UrgoStart, the NHS could save £19.6 million per year.^1,3

Julie Mullings, Lead Nurse Tissue Viability, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"Patients really suffer both physically and psychologically when they develop an ulcer, significantly affecting their quality of life for many months and sometimes longer. If we can reduce the healing time by using the right dressings and treatments at the right time this will achieve the best outcome for the patient. NICE's decision to support this standardised evidence-based approach to reducing the time to heal is great news for nurses as well, as it frees up our time to spend with other patients in need."

Graham Bowen, Clinical Lead for Podiatry, Solent NHS Trust, said:

"This is tremendous news. Diabetes foot ulcers are extremely debilitating and can affect every aspect of the person's life. Urgo Medical's new treatment, which can significantly reduce the healing time of foot ulcers, will have a significant impact on thousands of patients living with this condition. As we know, over 90% of all diabetes related amputations are preceded by a single foot ulcer so speeding up the healing process could help prevent many unnecessary amputations. The NICE guidance shows that UrgoStart can have a major impact on clinical outcomes and reduces costs for the NHS which is good news for both patients and healthcare professionals."

NICE's decision means that thousands more people with venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers could benefit from this unique wound treatment.     

One person who has already benefitted is 49 year-old company director, Tim Newman. He said:

"It's hard enough living with type 1 diabetes; a foot ulcer is an added stress. In the past, when I had a foot ulcer, treating it was such an arduous process. With UrgoStart it is so much easier and more effective -  the skin soon started to look healthy around the ulcer and there was a better blood supply. The size reduced really quickly, going from a deep hole to nothing at all. I would recommend it to anyone."

UrgoStart is a wound dressing that works in a unique way to stop enzymes in the body harming new healthy tissue. These enzymes, known as Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs), are initially needed to clear away damaged cells but when they are in excess they start to work against the body's healing process. UrgoStart's unique technology stops that in its tracks and also promotes the growth of new blood vessels to further heal the ulcer. ^7,8

Gavin Ashton, Managing Director of Urgo Medical said:

"We're absolutely delighted by this announcement. We have an intensive research and development programme which we believe is revolutionising the wound healing market. UrgoStart is more than a dressing; it is a treatment that has a full role to play in the protocol of patients with leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.

"The NICE decision endorses our commitment to developing evidence-based treatments and means thousands more patients will have access to the UrgoStart treatment range.

"We aim to meet the needs of the medical profession by helping to improve the quality of care they can provide to patients, and we are simultaneously saving the NHS money."

Notes to editors:

UrgoStart

UrgoStart (Urgo Medical) is an interactive dressing for treating diabetic foot ulcers, leg ulcers and pressure ulcers.  It is composed of a unique TLC-NOSF Healing Matrix (NOSF impregnated in a TLC healing matrix), which reduces healing time.

UrgoStart Plus is part of the same treatment range, composed of two exclusive technologies, TLC-NOSF Healing Matrix (NOSF* impregnated in a TLC healing matrix) and poly-absorbent fibres. These unique poly-absorbent fibres bind, trap and retain exudate, slough and debris present in the wound, keeping it clean throughout healing. UrgoStart Plus, in addition to reducing healing time, offers simplification of treatment choice: one single solution for all leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers acting from day 1 to complete healing.

There are 5 formats of the dressing and each comes in different sizes: UrgoStart Contact Layer, UrgoStart Non-Adhesive, UrgoStart Border, UrgoStart Plus Pad, and UrgoStart Plus Border.

UrgoStart is a lipido-colloid dressing (hydrocellular type) with soft-adherent TLC-NOSF Healing Matrix (NOSF* impregnated in a TLC healing matrix). CE marked as a class IIb medical device.

Healing properties:

• TLC-NOSF dressings are the only local treatment clinically proven to close more wounds and to reduce healing time ^7,9-11
• TLC-NOSF dressings significantly improve patients' quality of life ^9,10
• TLC-NOSF dressings are cost effective ¹²

* NOSF (Nano OligoSaccharide Factor) = KSOS (potassium sucrose octasulfate)

Urgo Medical

Urgo Medical is a global wound care company offering a range of innovative dressings, compression bandages and hosiery, all designed to improve wound healing and patient quality of life.

Urgo Medical believe strongly in evidence-based care and pride themselves on their products having the highest level of clinical evidence available. Their focus is working in partnership with healthcare professionals to help move from managing wounds to healing wounds. They offer market-leading education and support through an experienced clinical team to help to improve patient outcomes and reduce healing time.  

Urgo Medical's innovative treatments and services are tailored to patients and healthcare professional needs, providing life changing solutions for wound healing.

NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for driving improvement and excellence in health and social care. It develops national guidance, standards and information on high-quality health and social care to improve outcomes for clinicians and patients.

NICE Medical Technology Guidance aims to help the NHS adopt clinically effective and cost effective technologies quickly.

It is developed by independent committees who review all of the best evidence and expert opinions to turn it into actionable recommendations. The guidance development process includes the review of:

• Clinical evidence and economic evidence
• Expert advice and evidence
• Patient carer organisation advice and evidence
• Anonymous consultation

References

1. Data on file.
2. NICE Guidance Medical technology guidance: UrgoStart for treating diabetic foot ulcers and leg ulcers. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/mtg42.
3. Kerr M. Diabetic Footcare in England: an economic study, January 2017. Insight Health Economics for Diabetes UK.
4. Diabetes UK prevalence figures. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/position-statements-reports/statistics. Last accessed: January 2019.
5. Guest JF, Ayoub N, McIlwraith T et al. Health economic burden that different wound types impose on the UKs National Health Service. International Wound Journal. 2017. 6: 186-96.
6. French Health Insurance Report to the Ministry of Health for 2014, July 2013.
7. Edmonds M, Lázaro-Martínez JL, Alfayate-García JM, Martini J, Petit JM, Rayman G,Lobmann R, Uccioli L, Sauvadet A, Bohbot S, Kerihuel JC, Piaggesi A. Sucrose octasulfate dressing versus control dressing in patients with neuroischaemic diabetic foot ulcers (Explorer): an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018 Mar;6(3):186-196 Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29275068.
8. White, R., Cowan, T., Glover, D. Supporting evidence-based practice: a clinical review of TLC healing matrix (2nd edition). MA Healthcare Ltd, London, 2015.
9. Meaume S, Dompmartin A, Lazareth I, Sigal M, Truchetet F, Sauvadet A, Bohbot S. Quality of life in patients with leg ulcers: results from CHALLENGE, a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Journal of Wound Care. 2017; 26 (7): 368-379.
10. Meaume S, Truchetet F, Cambazard F, et al. A randomized, controlled, double-blind prospective trial with a Lipido-Colloid Technology-Nano-OligoSaccharide Factor wound dressing in the local management of venous leg ulcers. Wound Repair Regen 2012; 20: 4, 500–511.
11. Münter KC, Meaume S, Augustin M, Senet P, Kérihuel J.C. The reality of routine practice: a pooled data analysis on chronic wounds treated with TLC-NOSF wound dressings. J Wound Care. 2017 Feb; 26 (Sup2): S4-S15. Erratum in: J Wound Care. 2017 Mar 2; 26(3): 153.
12. An Economic Evaluation of UrgoStart® for Patients with Chronic Leg Ulcers in the United Kingdom. York University. Data on file. Urgo, 2011.

For further details: www.urgostartplus.co.uk

Please contact: Donna Gregory, Donna.gregory@interactionpr.co.uk or Karen Rowe, Karen.rowe@interactionpr.co.uk. Tel 01233-732769.
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