Oct 13 2008
Z-Medica Corporation (Z-Medica), a medical products company focused on innovative hemostatic nano-technologies, today announced that it has been awarded a $2.9 million contract from the United States Navy and Marine Corps to fund large-scale human studies on stopping bleeding in penetrating wounds, using the company's new QuikClot® Combat Gauze(TM). The U.S. Department of Defense Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care recently selected QuikClot® Combat Gauze(TM) as the firstline hemorrhage treatment for tourniquet-resistant wounds for all branches of the U.S. military.
The clinical studies will take place at five major university and hospital trauma centers: Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; the University of Miami; the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass.; Vanderbilt University in Nashville; and Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. Specifically, the study will address small entry/large exit wounds from high velocity bullets, traumatic injuries frequently encountered on the battlefield.
"We are proud to support the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in their medical mission and are gratified that they selected the best available hemostatic agent for these important studies that will result in new knowledge and medical techniques for saving both military and civilian lives," said Z-Medica CEO Raymond J. Huey.
QuikClot® Combat Gauze™ combines surgical gauze with a proprietary inorganic material that stops arterial and venous bleeding in seconds. The material, pliable and familiar to medical personnel, can be fitted to any size or shape wound - including penetrating wounds. It is easily removed once the bleeding stops. The product comes in rolls four yards long by three inches wide.
Prior to its deployment earlier this year, QuikClot® Combat Gauze™ was tested in pre-clinical trials at the Naval Medical Research Center, the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Massachusetts Medical School and at various field facilities. It has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
In addition to QuikClot® Combat Gauze™, Z-Medica manufacturers and markets QuikClot® brand hemostatic agent and QuikClot® ACS+™ for military use, QuikClot® 1st Response™ for first responders and a suite of consumer first aid products including QuikClot® NoseBleed™, the first to be based on the new hemostatic gauze technology. More than one million units of QuikClot® are deployed in the U.S. and 36 countries worldwide.