Systagenix acquires O2 Insights Inc, adding a third marker to its wound diagnostics pipeline

June 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Systagenix announced today that it completed the acquisition of the assets of O2 Insights Inc. Co-founded by Robert Rushenberg, and Dr Samit Gupta, Ph.D., O2 Insights Inc. is an Ohio based technology start-up developing rapid, reliable and cost effective point-of-care diagnostics for the measurement of transcutaneous tissue oxygenation.  

“We are delighted to join Systagenix, the world leader in wound diagnostics,” said Mr. Rushenberg and Dr.Gupta.  “With their strong commitment to bringing point-of-care diagnostics to wound care, this is a perfect fit for us.”

Transcutaneous oxygen perfusion measurement (TCOM), or TcpO2, is a key marker for chronic wounds where ischemia and/or hypoxia may be playing a role in delayed wound healing.  In clinical practice, TcpO2 is measured to help assess peripheral vascular oxygenation, assist in determining the need for revascularization procedures, and to assess the potential benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

O2 Insights’ technology aims to address many of the shortcomings of current TCOM devices which can be complex to operate, take up to 45 minutes to generate a result, and can require a dedicated technician to operate. The O2 Insights Inc. technology holds the promise of providing easy to use, accurate, and reliable transcutaneous oxygen perfusion measurements in a matter of minutes and at significantly lower capital equipment cost, thus making measurement of TcpO2 accessible to much larger numbers of patients and health care providers in various clinical settings.

With this acquisition Systagenix continues to increase its point of care wound diagnostics leadership and footprint by investing in the development of clinically relevant markers and devices to penetrate an untapped potential multi-billion dollar wound diagnostics market.

“We launched WOUNDCHEK™ Protease Status – the world’s first point of care test for chronic wounds to detect Elevated Protease Activity (EPA) - in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa earlier this year.  More recently we reached a very significant milestone by completing the first trial on our wound infection point-of-care test currently in development, and today by joining forces with O2 Insights Inc., we set out to develop an easy to use, rapid, and cost effective point-of-care test for tissue oxygenation,” comments Ernest Waaser, Systagenix Chief Executive Officer.  “Our goal is to provide physicians better diagnostic tools to help them guide targeted treatment earlier and increase chances of healing more rapidly and cost effectively.  We are now well on our way to providing the tools to answer three key questions every clinician would like to know about a chronic wound – does it have elevated protease activity, does infection need to be addressed, and is there adequate tissue oxygenation?”

Established in 2008, following the acquisition of Johnson & Johnson’s professional wound care business, Systagenix is 100% dedicated to wound care, developing and marketing advanced diagnostic and therapeutic wound care solutions globally.
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