TriStar Wellness (TWSI) Receives Funding for Prostate Cancer Surgical Product
Last Updated: October 13, 2015 8:00 AM EST
(NEW YORK)--TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc. (OTC:TWSI), a health and wellness company that targets opportunities in the advanced wound care marketplace, receives Phase II funding from NIH for prostate cancer surgical product.
TWSI wholly owned subsidiary, HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc., was awarded $1.1 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a novel chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing that is able to be delivered by a catheter to control and prevent prostatic bleeding during prostatic surgery such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) will work with TWSI as a subcontractor in development of the dressing.
Prostate benign hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer are two of the most common urologic diseases that are treated with surgical intervention in older men. The Department of Health and Human Services report approximately 150,000 prostatic surgical procedures performed in the U.S. annually. Uncontrolled bleeding associated with transurethral and open prostatic surgical procedures often results in delayed healing, increased patient discomfort and ultimately prolonged hospitalization which significantly increases the cost of patient care.
The chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing development will enable rapid control of bleeding, reduce discomfort associated with extended catheterization, and more significantly enable reduction in hospital stays and expenditure. A previous Phase I award demonstrated feasibility of the chitosan endoluminal hemostatic dressing, its incorporation into a urinary catheter device, and its use to control bleeding in a large animal model. The Phase II funding that has now been awarded provides for development of a final balloon-delivered hemostatic system.
TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc. produces a line of FDA approved hemostatic blood control products approved in both the US, and China. For the first six months of 2015 the Company reported total sales revenues of $1.9 million, and is expected to report third quarter sales results in mid-November.
TWSI currently has around 27 million shares issued and outstanding, and trades on the OTCQB exchange under the stock symbol "TWSI".
