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October 23, 2007
Medicare Will No Longer Pay For Preventable Hospital-Acquired Infections
Effective January 1, 2008, Medicare will no longer reimburse inpatient acute care hospitals for the costs of treating “certain conditions that could reasonably have been prevented,” including many hospital-acquired infections. Hospitals will also be prohibited from billing Medicare patients for any costs associated with the management of these complications.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections occur annually and these infections cause or contribute to the deaths of 99,000 patients each year.
The new Medicare policy, which is outlined in CMS Change Request 5499, is certain to place increased emphasis on the prevention of hospital-acquired infections.
To learn more, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5499.pdf.
February 23, 2005
Exoxemis Presents at the 51st Annual Meeting of the
Orthopedic Research Society
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, AR) presented data this
week at the 51st annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society demonstrating
the in vivo efficacy of its myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme system in a
rat model of surgical site infection.
The data presented demonstrates the progress that has been made in developing
and validating the MPO system for preventing surgical site infection.
A rat dermal model was used to mimic the situation of contaminated wound
margins that is believed to cause the majority of surgical site infections
in human patients. Complete and rapid kill of concentrated (106) Staphylococcus
aureus inoculum was demonstrated within 15 minutes using MPO compared
to no kill with the control solution.
Surgical site infections are an important cause of hospital morbidity,
mortality and excess cost. Even a very small amount of inoculum can cause
infection in certain hosts. The MPO system is an oxidant generating enzyme
system that is being developed as a local agent to prevent surgical site
infection. In vitro, the system has demonstrated rapid microbicidal activity
against a wide range of organisms even in the presence of implant materials.
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, Arkansas), a biopharmaceutical research
and development company, develops haloperoxidase products for prevention
and treatment of serious infections to address the growing problem
of microbial drug resistance. The rapid microbicidal activity and
favorable safety profile of the MPO system suggest promising applications
in a wide variety of therapeutic areas. The Exoxemis technology is
a versatile platform that can be leveraged into multiple product
areas, including medical, biodefense, industrial, veterinary and
agricultural applications. For further information, contact Ann
Pierson at Exoxemis, Inc.
November 1, 2004
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, Arkansas) presents research results of animal safety profile of pure and formulated porcine myeloperoxidase at the 4th International Peroxidase Meeting, Kyoto, Japan,
October 27-30, 2004.
A cell free oxidant generating system containing porcine myeloperoxidase (MPO) has been developed as a local/topical antimicrobial. Recent studies conducted by Exoxemis, Inc. demonstrated that the MPO system is rapidly microbicidal against a broad range of bacteria, fungi, spores, and viruses in vitro, and demonstrates rapid decrease in bacterial challenge after application onto wounds in vivo. Excellent efficacy of the MPO system both in vitro and in vivo led us to investigate the safety profile of the pure and formulated MPO. Studies were conducted in rats and rabbits to investigate the safety of pure and formulated MPO. The studies included 14 day oral, dermal and pulmonary toxicity testing and 72 hour dermal and ocular irritation testing. The results showed that pure and formulated MPO were non-toxic in oral, dermal and pulmonary tests and non-irritating to the eyes. In dermal irritation tests, a slight and transient erythema reaction in 1/3 rabbits cleared within 24 hours. The results support previous in vitro and in vivo studies indicating that MPO and MPO formulations are non-toxic, non-irritating, non-genotoxic, and non-sensitizing.
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, Arkansas), a biopharmaceutical research and development company, develops haloperoxidase products for prevention and treatment of serious infections, and to address the growing problem of microbial drug resistance. The rapid microbicidal activity and favorable safety profile of the MPO system suggest promising applications in a wide variety of therapeutic areas. The Exoxemis technology is a versatile platform that can be leveraged into multiple product areas, including medical, biodefense, industrial, veterinary and agricultural applications. For further information, contact Ann Pierson at Exoxemis, Inc.
February 15, 2004.
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, Arkansas) presents research results comparing
the Myeloperoxidase (MPO) Enzyme System to antibiotics for irrigation
of implant material at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), San Francisco,
CA, March 7 – 10, 2004.
Residual bacteria at the site of implant surgery can lead to acute and
delayed infection. Recent studies conducted by Exoxemis, Inc. clearly
demonstrated that the MPO enzyme system rapidly and completely kills residual
S. aureus, even in the presence of implant material. Antibiotic solutions
traditionally used in the clinic failed to do so, and in fact showed re-growth
of the initial inoculum. Dr. Anthony Robins, a co-investigator and orthopedic
surgeon at University of Washington (Seattle, Washington) commented, “This
new method demonstrates superiority over the current clinical practice
in vitro for reducing residual bacteria.”
Exoxemis, Inc. (Little Rock, Arkansas), a biopharmaceutical research and
development company, develops haloperoxidase products for prevention and
treatment of serious infections, and to address the growing problem of
microbial drug resistance. The Exoxemis technology is a versatile platform
that can be leveraged into multiple product areas, including medical,
biodefense, industrial, veterinary and agricultural applications. For
further information, contact Ann
Pierson at Exoxemis, Inc.
Read excerpts from reports about Exoxemis in the news.
January 20, 2004
Cleveland Clinic hopes to sell diagnostic test for
heart attack detection.
Cleveland (AP). The Cleveland Clinic has received $6 million from Exoxemis,
Inc. of Little Rock, Arkansas to help develop and sell diagnostic tests,
including a blood test that could determine if someone is at risk for
having a heart attack.
The new company is named PrognostiX and is expected to be operational
in April. The main product will be a blood test designed to identify patients
at risk of having a heart attack by measuring the level of myeloperoxidase,
or MPO, found in the bloodstream. MPO is an enzyme found in disease-fighting
white blood cells.
Dr. Stanley Hazen's research at the clinic shows that an elevated level
of MPO could signal a person's risk for having heart disease or a heart
attack. His findings were published in October 2003 in the New England
Journal of Medicine.
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