Ark Therapeutics Group plc has signed an exclusive marketing agreement granting BellPharma Limited, the Irish distributor of healthcare products, the sales and marketing rights to Kerraboo® for the Irish market. Kerraboot is Ark’s novel wound care device for the management of leg and foot ulcers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ark will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and an ongoing royalty of 19% on sales in return for the marketing rights to Kerraboot. BellPharma will also purchase the manufactured product from Ark and be responsible for marketing to all sectors of the healthcare community in Ireland, as well as achieving product reimbursement from the General Medical Scheme.

Lower leg and foot ulceration affects around 1% of the adult population in the developed world and is particularly prevalent amongst the diabetic population where the ulcers can develop rapidly and are particularly difficult to heal. Kerraboot provides a new approach to their management in the form of a novel, non pressurized, boot-like dressing device, which is simple, quick and pain free to change. Kerraboot facilitates the draining and isolation of exudates such as matrix metalloproteases, which inhibit angiogenesis, from the ulcer. This allows natural growth factors, such as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF), to stimulate healing.

In clinical studies of ulcers managed with Kerraboot, reductions in ulcer sizes of up to 60% have been observed over the four week study period, with both healthcare professionals and patients expressing a strong preference for Kerraboot over existing treatments. UK based studies have also shown that management of ulcers with Kerraboot, which does not involve any additional dressings, can be extremely cost effective, a company release said here.