Bioquell Regulatory News (BQE)

21 Dec 2005 07:00

Bioquell PLC21 December 2005 TO: CITY EDITORSFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 21 December, 2005 BIOQUELL PLC Presentation of preliminary results of a "superbug" eradication trial in a US hospital at a leading US medical conference Update on wound healing clinical trials BIOQUELL PLC, the UK leader in specialist bio-decontamination technology andtesting services, announces a successful "superbug" eradication trial and anupdate on the clinical trials of its new wound healing technology. "Superbug" eradication * for the last six months a BIOQUELL team has been participating in a trial of its technology at a large US teaching hospital. * the purpose of the trial was to determine BIOQUELL's success in eliminating bacteria, including Clostridium difficile ("C.diff"), MRSA and VRE which are well known antibiotic resistant "superbugs" that are challenging healthcare providers world-wide. * C.diff has been a long standing issue for healthcare providers and a new, virulent strain is causing major problems for hospitals in the UK, parts of Europe and 16 states in the US, where significantly increased sickness and death rates are being seen. * The trial was led by Dr John M. Boyce, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, and Chief, Infectious Diseases Section at the Hospital of Saint Raphael, and one of the authors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2002 'Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings'. * The trial results show that BIOQUELL's technology is highly efficacious at eliminating C.diff, MRSA and VRE from the hospital environment, including from sensitive electronic medical equipment. * The preliminary data suggest that the BIOQUELL technology may contribute to a reduction in the number of patients' exposed and becoming ill from C.diff. BIOQUELL's technology continues to be used in the hospital to study further its impact on the frequency of C diff. Further data on C.diff patient infection rates will be presented next year. * The results of the BIOQUELL trial were presented at the prestigious ICAAC (Interscience Conference for Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 16 - 19 December, 2005) conference in Washington. Wound healing technology BIOQUELL continues to achieve good results from its new and novel wound healingtechnology which is currently undergoing clinical trials in the UK. It isanticipated that the academic experts involved in these trials will present datanext year at medical conferences which will demonstrate that BIOQUELL'stechnology reduces significantly the time taken to heal certain wounds. Theidentification of suitable partners to market this product overseas has started. Commenting on the above, Nick Adams, Chief Executive of BIOQUELL, said:"We are delighted that the results of the six month BIOQUELL trial in a UShospital have shown such encouraging results. The new strain of Clostridiumdifficile is creating major problems for healthcare providers around the world -and we expect that the results presented at the ICAAC conference will createsignificant interest from hospitals in the US and elsewhere. We are also pleased that our wound healing technology continues to demonstrategood results from the ongoing clinical trials and we are increasingly confidentthat this technology has substantial commercial potential." Enquiries Nick Adams BIOQUELL PLC 01264 835 900Mark Bodeker Emma Kane Redleaf Communications 020 7955 1410 Notes to editors: Clostridium difficile ("C.diff") is a spore forming bacteria. Spore formers,including for example anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), are extremely tough and ableto survive for years in the environment (including the hospital environment).The alcohol handgels used in many hospitals as a key part of infection controlagainst "superbugs" like MRSA are not effective against spore formers. Inaddition, the use of bleach cleaning does not eradicate C.diff from the hospitalenvironment. In 1978 it was discovered that C.diff was responsible for causing disease inpatients in hospitals and hence was considered to be a hospital acquiredinfection or "superbug". Earlier this decade a new strain of C.diff appeared which: (i) was much morevirulent - with hospitals experiencing significantly higher rates of sicknessand death - and (ii) was significantly more resistant to certain classes ofantibiotics (for example the fluoroquinolones). This new strain of C.diff,commonly referred to as BI/NAP1 or the 027 strain, was first identified inCanada; however, over the last few years it appears to have spread to healthcarefacilities down the East coast of the US and is currently known to be affectinghealthcare facilities in 16 US states. It has also been detected in the UKincluding, for example, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital earlier this year. Data on the Health Protection Agency website suggests that 43,682 patients inNHS hospitals were found to have C.diff in 2004. The new 027 strain of C.diff isthought to be affecting c.40 hospitals in the UK. Further information on C.diff can be found from the following sources: http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/12/02/deadly.bacteria.ap/index.html http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/clostridium_difficile/vol_data.htm "The New Clostridium difficile - What does it mean?", J.G. Bartlett and T.M.Perl, New England Journal of Medicine, 8 December 2005, 352;23; 2503-2505 "Toxin production by an emerging strain of Clostridium difficile associated withoutbreaks of severe disease in North America and Europe", M. Warny et al., TheLancet, 24 September 2005, Vol 366; 1079-1084 "Severe Clostridium difficile - associated disease in populations previously atlow risk - four states, 2005". CDC, MMWR, 2 December 2005, 54(47); 1201-1205 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange