RNS18 Jan 2011 15:19
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Tuesday 18 January, 2011
Ondine Boipharma Cor
UCL & Ondine Awarded £1 Million by UK Medi...
FOR: ONDINE BIOMEDICAL INC.
TSX, AIM SYMBOL: OBP
January 18, 2011
UCL & Ondine Awarded £1 Million by UK Medical Research Council to Develop Infection Prevention Technology for
Catheters
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 18, 2011) - Ondine Biomedical Inc. ("Ondine" or the "Company")
(TSX:OBP)(AIM:OBP) today announced that University College London (UCL) Professors Ivan P. Parkin and Michael
Wilson and colleagues, in collaboration with Ondine, have been awarded a Medical Research Council (MRC)
Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme Award of GBP 1 million to develop a light activated antimicrobial
application for the prevention of catheter-associated infections such as urinary tract infections. This two and
one-half year project is scheduled to initiate on February 1, 2011, and represents the first of its kind for
Ondine.
This project will be managed by Professor Ivan Parkin, Head of the Department of Chemistry, UCL, and Professor
Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology, UCL Eastman Dental Institute ("UCLEDI"), to take existing
fundamental basic and clinical research findings towards the clinic. The stated purpose of the Award is to help
strengthen the translation of fundamental research towards patient benefit. This project is intended to enhance
the exclusive license that Ondine has with University College London on Light-Activated Antimicrobial Agents
nanoparticle conjugates and mixtures, and leverages expertise acquired by Ondine during the development of
Endowave(TM), a ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention product and MRSAid(TM), a MRSA nasal
decolonization product based on photodynamic disinfection.
"We consider this initiative to be a significant step towards the development of a major class of new medical
devices that may have the potential to reduce the number of urinary tract infections acquired in hospital,
thereby significantly reducing healthcare costs," stated Professor Ivan Parkin. "Furthermore, proof of concept
for application to urinary catheters will demonstrate a step-change in the prevention of catheter associated
infections (CAIs) and provide opportunity for the potential application of this novel approach to other
catheter types, including Cardiovascular, Intravenous & Neurovascular catheters."
Professor Michael Wilson, Professor of Microbiology, UCLEDI, and Pro-Provost for Europe at UCL, stated: "What
makes this undertaking unique is that the development work will be carried out by a multi-disciplinary team
from clinics, academia and industry consisting of chemists, bacteriologists, photobiologists, medical laser
physicists and clinicians experienced in the management of catheter-associated infections. This level of
collaboration across a number of disciplines i