Ondine Biomedical, Inc

We are thrilled to announce that the FDA has approved a human clinical study to investigate the use of photodisinfection to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). VAP occurs when a lung infection develops in a patient ventilated with an endotracheal tube and continues to be the #1 cause of healthcare-associated infections in intensive care units. In the U.S alone, more than 1.3 million patients are mechanically ventilated every year. Of these patients, 10%-20% will develop ventilator-associated pneumonia, and up to half of them will die.

“A successful VAP study would represent a key step towards the commercialization of this new application of photodisinfection which utilizes Ondine’s patented technology and products…(our technology) has been proven to be highly effective at eliminating biofilms in ex vivo models, it is therefore ideally suited for the elimination of endotracheal tube biofilms resulting in the prevention of VAP” says Carolyn Cross, Chairman & CEO of Ondine.

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“We have spent the last 70 years using and misusing antibiotics to treat and prevent common infectious diseases…It is therefore imperative that non-antibiotic solutions to fight infections are developed in order to preserve the next generation of effective medicine.”

Carolyn Cross Inducted Onto Board of IPA

Our CEO has done it again. Two weeks after being featured in the Vancouver Sun Newspaper, Ms. Cross has now been inducted onto the Board of the International Photodynamic Association (IPA). Founded in 1986, the IPA brings together the most distinguished international clinicians and scientists involved in researching and developing photodynamic therapy. Ms. Cross will help raise awareness about the benefits of this technology and help bring it to the forefront of medicine.

We are very pleased to share this announcement with all of you today. Ms. Cross has been with Ondine for over a decade and was one of the initial founders and financial supporters of our company. Under her leadership, Ondine has developed a rapid R & D program and is now seen as one of the world’s most renowned group of experts on photodynamic therapy and photodisinfection. Read more »

Carolyn Cross, Chairman & CEO of Ondine Biomedical Inc, understands too well the importance of supporting women in business.  This week, the Vancouver Sun Newspaper highlighted her involvement & support for this week’s Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) International Conference. This is a unique event that connects highly successful women from around the world in promoting the advancement of women across all industries. The WPO is an exclusive membership organization for women presidents of multimillion-dollar companies. Collectively, members of the WPO have 24,000 years in business, generate $14 billion in annual revenues, and employ 105,000 employees.

Carolyn Cross, Chairman & CEO of Ondine Biomedical Inc, was featured in today's Vancouver Sun Newspaper

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The key features of aPDT can be summarized as follows [¹]:

• Broad spectrum of action, since one photosensitizer can act on bacteria, fungi, yeasts and parasitic protozoa
• Efficacy independent of the resistance pattern of the given microbe
• Extensive reduction of pathogen counts in minutes, without damaging host cells
• No selection of resistant strains after multiple treatments
• Readily available, non-toxic photosensitizers
• Relatively low-cost light sources for activation of the photosensitizing agent
• No cytotoxic effects on key sensitive host cells such as human keratinocytes or fibroblasts

The treatment of topical infections has traditionally relied upon antibiotics in either topical or systemic dosage forms. However, the inexorable increase in antibiotic resistance (including to vancomycin and other glycopeptides) has led to the spectre of potentially untreatable infections, and this in turn has led to the development of alternative antimicrobial approaches based on light-activated chemotherapy ^{2, 3}. Photodynamic Disinfection (called antimicrobial PDT by the scientific community) is an extension to traditional photodynamic therapy (PDT) which was originally focused on oncotherapy and intra-ocular indications, utilizing systemically-administered photosensitizers. Read more »

“Healthcare-associated infections are one of the biggest causes of avoidable harm and unnecessary death in the developed world” – World Health Organization

Healthcare-associated infections kill more than 99,000 people every year

Over the next few blog posts, we’ll be discussing a group of infections known as healthcare-associated infections, or HAIs. In the US alone, more than 99,000 people die each year from these infections¹. While this cost on human life is high, the financial toll is equally staggering . The World Health Organization has called the HAIs one of the biggest causes of avoidable harm and unnecessary deaths in the developed world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that HAIs add $35-$45 billion in costs to the US healthcare system each year². As such, healthcare-associated infections have become a costly public health concern that demands immediate attention.

HAIs occur when a patient acquires an infection during the course of treatment at, or a visit to, a healthcare facility. After a patient acquires a HAI, the ramifications are often excessively expensive and deadly. In fact, HAIs are responsible for more deaths each year than car accidents, breast cancer, anorexia or AIDS. On average, they add 19 days to a patient’s hospital stay, and increase medical expenses by more than $45,000³. Read more »

Humans are multicellular creatures each comprised of trillions of cells. Oddly enough, bacteria in our bodies outnumber our human cells by 10:1, although their size is, on average, about one tenth of a human cell. When seen in this light, humans really are part human and part bacteria.  We are dependent on the maintenance of a delicate balance between human cells and bacterial cells for good health as we coexist with bacteria in a symbiotic relationship. There are estimated to be between 500-1,000 species of bacteria living in the human gut and skin.  Some of our bacteria are known to perform certain tasks that are critical. Without our bacteria, for instance, we would be unable to digest and process our food intake.  These commensal bacteria are widely known as our “flora”. Too many of any one kind of bacteria, and we are left in poor health. Bacteria, therefore, play a very important role in human health and human disease. Read more »

Bacteria, which are single-celled organisms, generally exist in either a free-floating, unattached (planktonic) state or in an attached state called a biofilm.  A planktonic form suggests these single celled organisms float or swim independently of each other in some liquid medium.  A biofilm, or attached state, is created with a change of behaviour triggered by many factors, including quorum sensing. A biofilm is a complex community of a number of different microorganisms coexisting together and marked by the excretion of a protective and adhesive matrix. The biofilm is held together and protected by the matrix, called extracellular polymeric substance or exopolysaccharide (EPS), holds the biofilm together, protects the cells within it and facilitates communication among bacteria through biochemical signals.  In a biofilm, cells are closely packed together and firmly attached to each other and usually to a solid surface. Read more »

It’s been a while since my last entry, so I am wrapping up this topic today.  My apologies to anyone I left waiting for the conclusion. 

In my first post on antibiotic resistance, I quoted German immunologist and Nobel Laureate Paul Ehrlich.  It is only fitting, then, that I frame my conclusion to this set of posts around something that Ehrlich dreamed of: The Magic Bullet. Read more »

Photodisinfection, also known in the scientific community as aPDT (short for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy), was the brainchild of Professor Michael Wilson at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London.  Funded by Eastman Kodak, the well known multi-national corporation, Professor Wilson was inspired to combine light therapy with a photosensitive agent to kill off harmful gram negative bacteria associated with gum diseases. Read more »