Developing an Ideal Wound Care Platform - Altrazeal Transforming Powder

With support from Navy Advanced Medical Development Command (NAMD) and Military Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), ULURU Inc., a small business enterprise based in Addison, TX that specializes in developing drug delivery solutions, is advancing the adoption of its novel wound care technology Altrazeal®, an extended wear time solution for acute and chronic wounds.

Challenge:Despite the proliferation of available products, the complexity and costs associated with wound management remain a global challenge. Administering effective care is further exacerbatedin austere combat environments. Conventional dressings require frequent changes consuming valuableresources, increasing wound exposure to contamination, and causing significant pain and discomfort for the patients. There is a need for simple, portable, and cost-effective interventions that reduce dressing changes, prevent infections and other complications, and enable early healing in a way that can be continued through sequential levels of care. Such solutions would conserve valuable resources while improving overall outcomes.

Solution*:Altrazeal is comprised primarily of biocompatible polymers (used in contact lenses). Its granulesaggregate upon hydration to form a moist, oxygen-permeable matrix that protects the wound from contamination while helping to manage excess exudate through vapor transpiration. Once applied, Altrazeal may be left in place for up to 30 days and more powder may be added as needed without requiring full dressing changes. Simple secondary dressings may be used in areas of high exudation or friction. Altrazealdries and flakes off as the wound heals. Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated Altrazeal’s ability to provide sustained release of active ingredients such as antimicrobial, debriding, clotting and regenerative agents providinga customizable and comprehensive platform that may be further developed for use across all stages of wound healing.

* Please see the Altrazeal Instructions for Use for a listing of indications for use, warnings and precautions. 

NAMD-MTEC Project Progress:Altrazeal is commercially available, with a significant repository of clinical data and pilot studies, andis being used in prominent civilian and veteran health systems. The MTEC award is facilitating larger, national clinical trials in both acute and chronic wounds toaccelerateAltrazeal’sadoptionas standard of careas well as pre-clinical studies in burn wounds with the USASIR burn research team in San Antonio, TX. Data from the clinical studies will also be used to conduct health economic analyses to seek product reimbursement. In parallel, the Altrazeal team continues to expand its marketing outreach to healthcare providers in the United States and internationally to serve patients in need.

Successful additional funding:Since receiving its first award through MTEC, Altrazealhas also received several other awards including a SBIR Phase 1 and an intramural DoD award to further develop Altrazeal combinations, and a CDMRP award for conducting a national study in pressure ulcers.A number of investigator-initiated studies in surgical, traumatic and chronic wounds have been initiated at prominent academic institutions.Altrazeal has also been funded by the Austrian Development Agency to treat patients in low resource markets (India) and to develop a corresponding data registry spanning a wide cross section of infected and clean wounds.

This MTEC project is funded through MTEC’s 21-10-NavyMultiTopic Request for Project Proposals (RPP) sponsored by the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) Naval Advanced Medical Development (NAMD) program.We are excited to monitor Uluru’s progress and Altrazeal’s positive impact on patient care.