Bioquell Regulatory News (BQE)

22 Mar 2006 07:00

Bioquell PLC22 March 2006 TO: CITY EDITORSFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 22 March, 2006 BIOQUELL PLC Presentation of further results of a "superbug" eradication trial in a US hospital at a leading US medical conference Greater than 50% reduction in the number of patients contracting hospital acquired Clostridium difficile BIOQUELL PLC, the UK leader in specialist bio-decontamination technology andtesting/compliance services, announces further data relating to a "superbug"eradication trial in a US hospital. "Superbug" eradication - background information * for over nine 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 reducing patient infection rates and eliminating bacteria, including Clostridium difficile ("C.diff"), MRSA and VRE which are well known antibiotic resistant "superbugs" that are challenging healthcare providers world-wide. * The trial was led by Dr John M. Boyce, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine and one of the authors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2002 'Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings'. * The preliminary trial results announced in December 2005 showed that BIOQUELL's technology is highly effective at eliminating C.diff, MRSA and VRE from the hospital environment, including from sensitive electronic medical equipment. Reduction in patient infection rates - new information * The trial results show that after 9.5 months of a BIOQUELL "implant" team being at the hospital there has been a statistically significant 53% year-on-year reduction in the number of new, hospital acquired Clostridium difficile cases for the months when the hyper-virulent strain was present in the hospital. * The results of the BIOQUELL trial were presented at the SHEA (The Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America) annual conference in Chicago, 18-21 March, 2006. Commenting on the above, Nick Adams, Chief Executive of BIOQUELL, said:"The results from this nine month trial using BIOQUELL's technology in a UShospital are really encouraging. A statistically significant 53% reduction innew hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections is impressive -particularly when the hyper-virulent strain is known to be present. C.diffcontinues to cause major problems for healthcare providers throughout the worldand we expect that these results will create significant interest from hospitalsin the US and elsewhere." Enquiries Nick Adams BIOQUELL PLC 01264 835 900Mark Bodeker Emma Kane Redleaf Communications 020 7955 1410Duncan McCormick Notes to editors: Clostridium difficile ("C.diff") has been a long standing issue for healthcareproviders and a new, hyper-virulent strain is causing major problems forhospitals in the UK, parts of Europe and 16 states in the US, wheresignificantly increased sickness and death rates are being seen. C.diff is a spore forming bacteria. Spore formers, including for example anthrax(Bacillus anthracis), are extremely tough and able to survive for years in theenvironment (including the hospital environment). The alcohol handgels used in many hospitals as a key part of infection controlare less effective against spore formers. In addition, the use of bleachcleaning does not eradicate C.diff from the hospital environment. 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". In 2003 a new strain of C.diff appeared which: (i) was much more virulent - withhospitals experiencing significantly higher levels of sickness and death - and(ii) was significantly more resistant to certain classes of antibiotics. Thisnew strain of C.diff, commonly referred to as BI/NAP1 or the 027 strain, wasfirst identified in Canada and over the last two years appears to have spread tohealthcare facilities down the East coast of the US. It has also been detectedin the UK including, for example, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital earlier thisyear. Data on the Health Protection Agency website suggests that 43,682 patients inNHS hospitals were found to have C.diff in 2004. 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