WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kane Biotech Inc. announces that it has signed collaboration agreements with Dr. James Doub, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology, and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) to study the use of DispersinB® with Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) patients. The group is securing funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for pre-clinical work to be done by Josh Wenke, a Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at UTMB.
PJI’s are one of the most serious complications of joint replacement surgery. Conservative estimates are that approximately 1–2% of all prostheses will become infected over the life of the implant [1]. The financial burden of treating these infections is staggering. It is estimated that they will cost the US healthcare system $1.62 billion in 2020 [1]. In addition, patients have significant morbidity and mortality as a direct result of our current medical and surgical management to treat these infections [2]. In one study, the five-year mortality for prosthetic joint infections is over 20% [2].
“These collaborations are of utmost importance given our shared strategies for managing complex musculoskeletal infections and finding cures for the debilitating morbidity associated with PJI. We are highly optimistic of advancing this field scientifically and clinically for the benefit of patients across the globe” said Marc Edwards, CEO of Kane Biotech.
“The Institute of Human Virology has been testing the use of bacteriophage therapeutics in treating recalcitrant PJIs with some early signals of success,” explained Dr. Doub, who is also Director of Infectious Diseases Ambulatory Practice at the University of Maryland Medicine Center. “However, DispersinB®, has properties that bacteriophages do not have which include superior application as a preventative therapeutic, broader spectrum of activity, and a much easier regulatory (FDA) path.” Dr. Doub is a consultant for Kane Biotech.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/02/10/2382824/0/en/Kane-Biotech-Announces-New-Collaboration-Agreements-for-Prosthetic-Joint-Infection-expanding-its-DispersinB-applications.html