Despite the uncertainty of COVID-19, Skin Substitutes (CTPs) continue to push the boundaries in Advanced Wound Care with impressive clinical studies, new products and technologies, and changing market dynamics.

Despite the unpredictability of COVID-19, skin substitutes (CTPs – cellular and/or tissue-based products) continue to be a hot area of research, innovation and investment in the market for Advanced Wound Care (AWC). This segment is comprised of an assortment of products, including human dermal allografts, amniotic tissue allografts, xenografts, cell-based bioengineered and most recently synthetic type products. Wounds most often treated with these products include diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, challenging surgical wounds, trauma wounds and burns. In addition, these wounds are treated in a variety of settings that include the hospital outpatient department (HOPD) wound clinic, physician office, surgical suite and burn center. In the following article, SmartTRAK reviews the latest news on skin substitutes (CTPs) from SAWC Spring 2020 and provides an update on investment activities as well as reimbursement and market trends amid COVID-19.

Q220 reflects the full impact of COVID-19, driving a downward slide in all segments

For Q220, according to BioMedGPS’ SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, the US Infection Prevention - Vascular Access Adjunct Products market was down -16.8% YoY.

The prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) continues to drive measures and practices to reduce Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) and is creating demand for products that can address these issues. Numerous programs and educational tools are being developed to provide measures and strategies that assist healthcare providers in the prevention and reduction of infection in acute care and other settings.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive  Q220 Infection Prevention: US Vascular Access Adjunct Market Recap* are:

In Q220, all geographies experienced shrinkage in their AWC revenues with Single-use NPWT showing the sharpest declines.

All companies are experiencing a negative impact on their wound businesses from COVID-19 in Q220, but most are also stating that June was better than April, indicating a strong recovery in the wound market. 3M* remains the WW market leader with Q220 revenue down -14.9% YoY. WW Advanced Dressings declined -9.9%, impacted by COVID-19, especially in hospitals. US Skin/Dermal Substitute (CTP) revenue fell also, with mixed results from market leaders. WW NPWT was down -17.8%, with single-use and traditional devices down -24.2% and -16.4%, respectively.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive Q220 Advanced Wound Care Market Recap* are:

Q120 remained a bright spot showing positive growth with modest disruption from COVID-19 for the quarter.

For Q120, according to BioMedGPS’ SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, the US Infection Prevention - Vascular Access Adjunct Products market was up +4. 4% YoY. The prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) continues to drive measures and practices to reduce Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) and is creating demand for products that can address these issues. Numerous programs and educational tools are being developed to provide measures and strategies that assist healthcare providers in the prevention and reduction of infection in acute care and other settings.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive Q120 Infection Prevention: Vascular Access Adjunct Products Recap Market Recap* are:

In Q120, the US and EU AWC markets experienced modest gains, offset by ROW (China) hit early in the quarter with COVID-19.

For Q120, according to BioMedGPS’ SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, WW Advanced Wound Care (AWC) revenues for Advanced Dressings, External Devices and Biologics was up +2.2% YoY. Many companies commented on the impact of COVID-19 on their business performance. Overall, the impact in Q120 was limited, as the pandemic hit in March in most countries, whereas Jan and Feb were more business as usual. All are expecting a more severe impact in Q220, and almost all companies have withdrawn their FY20 projections.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive Q120 Advanced Wound Care Market Recap* are:

.SmartTRAK discusses a new biomaterials opportunity for medical devices with Michael Ziebell, President and CEO of trū Shrimp.

Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the US with an annual consumption of 1.6 billion pounds and 90% sourced outside the US. trū Shimp has developed a unique aquaculture for raising shrimp that allows production to occur anywhere in the US, even in Minnesota. Michael Ziebell explains the unique features of the process and its ability to produce a novel biomaterial that may be tailored to meet the needs of the medical device industry.

A transcript of SmartTRAK’s interview with Michael Ziebell is below. To listen to the audio interview, click on the video (10:39 minutes). The full transcript, with a link to download a PDF, is provided below.

FY19 showed solid gains in all segments, up +4.1% YoY, as antimicrobial devices take the lead

The prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) continues to drive measures and practices to reduce Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) and is creating demand for products that can address these issues. Numerous programs and educational tools are being developed to provide measures and strategies that assist healthcare providers in the prevention and reduction of infection in acute care and other settings.

According to BioMedGPS' SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, the Q419 US VA Adjunct Products market saw a solid increase of +3.7% for the four segments: Dressings, Antimicrobial Devices, Antimicrobial IV Skin Preps and Mechanical Securement Devices.

Among the many topics including news, financial data, charts and company revenues, covered in the comprehensive Q419/FY19 Infection Prevention: Vascular Access Adjunct Products Market Recap*, are:

A year of solid growth and acquisitions for the WW AWC market, as 3M moves into the leading position.

For FY19, according to BioMedGPS’ SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, WW Advanced Wound Care (AWC) revenue for Advanced Dressings, External Devices and Biologics was up +4.7% YoY.

3M captured the number one position in the AWC space after completing the acquisition of Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries on October 11, 2019. According to SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard, in FY19, combined 3M and Acelity seized 22.7% of the market and generated +6.2% YoY growth. Revenue for Q419 was up +6.9% YoY, driven by ongoing strong performance in single-use negative pressure wound therapy and solid growth in Advanced Wound Dressings. 

Among the many topics, including news, financial data, charts and company revenues, covered in the comprehensive Q419/FY19 Advanced Wound Care Market Recap*,  are:

Marcia Nusgart, Executive Director, Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders, discusses the upcoming Wound Care Evidence Summit and improving payer coverage in an interview with SmartTRAK.

In the market for wound care products, the success of any product is highly dependent on whether or not manufacturers are able to obtain a positive coverage determination from public and commercial payers. In the last several years, obtaining product reimbursement has been more challenging as payers are restricting coverage for a growing number of wound care products due to a lack of clarity surrounding clinical evidence.

So, what are payers looking for? What and how much clinical evidence do payers need to cover wound care products and procedures? How can manufacturers prepare scientific evidence to meet payer needs, improve coverage and achieve more uniform policies for treating wounds in all healthcare settings? To answer these questions and more, the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders is convening payers, regulators, researchers, manufacturers and wound care providers at its upcoming Wound Care Evidence Summit to be held April 1-2, 2020 in Washington, DC.

To find out about the Summit, improving payer coverage and opportunities for industry, SmartTRAK’s Susan Paquette interviewed Marcia Nusgart, Executive Director of the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders.

Positive gains in the mid-single digits for Q319, a slight decrease from previous quarter

Prevention of HAIs continues to drive measures and practices to reduce Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) and is creating demand for products that can address these issues. In response, numerous programs and educational tools are being launched providing measures and strategies to assist healthcare providers in the prevention and reduction of infection in acute care and other settings.

Last quarter, a coalition of nurses and the AVA launched a drive to support a safety initiative for placing vascular access specialists in every hospital across America. This theme continued at this year’s AVA conference with the mission statement of “Protect the Patient, Educate the Clinician and Save the Line” highlighting the overall focus for the event. Acknowledgment of the importance of the vascular access nurse and team were featured in numerous studies and presentations demonstrating the value of the vascular access team in practice...

Among the many topics covered in the complete, comprehensive Q319 US Infection Prevention Market Recap* are: