Bacterin Presents Preclinical Results Of An Efficacious Antimicrobial Orthopedic Device Coating

Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT:

), a leader in the development of bone graft material and coatings for medical applications, presented preclinical results of a robust and efficacious antimicrobial coating for orthopedic hardware at the 2014 Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting. The coating is intended to address one of the most serious complications in orthopedic surgery, implant-associated infections. Of the estimated two million fracture-fixation devices implanted annually in the United States, 100,000 become infected. This leads to not only life threatening complications for the patients but also places an unnecessary 1.5 billion dollar burden on the healthcare system. To overcome this challenge, researchers at Bacterin have developed a rifampin- and minocycline-containing coating aimed at inhibiting microbial contamination of the implant that can lead to infection. Mark Schallenberger, MS, the lead research scientist for the project and presenter of the findings at the OTA Annual Meeting stated, "Our testing has shown that the coating inhibits infection progression in a rabbit model of pin track infection and significantly aids orthopedic hardware in maintaining anchoring strength." The antimicrobial coating has not yet received FDA clearance, but has substantial commercial viability according to Bacterin's Chief Scientific Officer, Gregory Juda, PhD, CTBS, who noted that, "The results from this preclinical study represent a significant step towards the development of antimicrobial-coated orthopedic devices. The durability and long-lasting efficacy of this new coating technology makes it broadly applicable to a variety of orthopedic devices and demonstrates Bacterin's continuing commitment to innovating in the field of orthopedic surgery."