SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.,
March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- ICU Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: ICUI) today announced that it has
entered into a long-term distribution agreement with B. Braun
Melsungen AG, giving B. Braun distribution rights to promote ICU
Medical's SwabCap® disinfecting cap for needlefree
connectors in selected countries outside the United States. Under the expanded
agreement, customers will be able to purchase the SwabCap
family of products from B. Braun in more than 30 countries around
the world.
SwabCap is a disposable cap designed to disinfect needlefree
connectors with 70% isopropyl alcohol when attached to an
intravenous catheter. The device's patented design has been proven
to help enhance the barrier to bacterial ingress while improving
visual swabbing compliance in the process.
In a recent study1 by clinicians at New York City's Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center, the reduction in hospital-acquired blood stream
infections (CLABSI) and blood contamination realized when using
SwabCap "corresponded to an annual savings of $3.2 million in direct medical costs." In
commenting on the study in the New England Journal of
Medicine Journal Watch2, deputy editor Richard T. Ellison III, MD said that "the use of
these devices appears to carry no apparent risk, and the cost
savings in reducing the rates of CLABSIs and contaminated blood
cultures could markedly outweigh the added cost of these devices in
most institutions."
"We look forward to working with ICU Medical on the SwabCap
family of products and to exploring additional opportunities to
improve patient safety," explained Dr. Meinrad Lugan, member of B. Braun's Management
Board. "We see this as the starting point of a common journey to
provide products that help clinicians eliminate infection risks
associated with infusion therapy."
ICU Medical CEO Vivek Jain added,
"We are extremely pleased for the opportunity to work with B.
Braun. Both our companies have a shared mission and long history of
developing breakthrough products to help improve outcomes in
infusion therapy. Through this collaboration and B. Braun's global
channel strength, we will be able to get more products into the
hands of more clinicians to positively impact more patients."
1 Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol.
2015;36(12) :1401–1408
2
http://www.jwatch.org/na40059/2016/01/08/how-effective-are-iv-catheter-disinfection-caps
Media
Contacts:
|
|
Tom McCall, ICU
Medical, Inc
|
Mechthild
Claes, B. Braun Melsungen AG
|
949-366-4368
|
+49-
5661-711635
|
tmccall@icumed.com
|
mechthild.claes@bbraun.com
|
About ICU Medical, Inc.: ICU Medical, Inc.
develops, manufactures and sells innovative medical devices used in
vascular therapy, oncology and critical care applications. ICU
Medical's products improve patient outcomes by helping prevent
bloodstream infections and protecting healthcare workers from
exposure to infectious diseases or hazardous drugs. The company's
complete product line includes custom IV systems, closed delivery
systems for hazardous drugs, needlefree IV connectors, catheters
and cardiac monitoring systems. ICU Medical is headquartered in
San Clemente,
California. More information about ICU Medical, Inc. can be
found at www.icumed.com.
About B. Braun: B. Braun - Sharing
Expertise. B. Braun supplies the global healthcare market
with product systems for anesthesia, intensive medicine,
cardiology, extra corporeal blood treatment and surgery, as well as
services for hospitals, general practitioners and the homecare
sector. Through dialogue with those who are using B. Braun's
products, the company is continually gaining new knowledge which it
incorporates into product development. In this way, the
company contributes with innovative products and services towards
optimizing working procedures in hospitals and medical practices
and improving safety – for patients, doctors and nursing staff.
55,000 employees in 63 countries share one goal: to protect
and improve the health of people around the world. To learn
more about B. Braun Medical visit
http://www.bbraun.com.
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SOURCE ICU Medical, Inc.