Innocoll Inc. announced it has entered into a license and distribution agreement with Pioneer Pharma in China for CollaGUARD surgical adhesion barrier for the prevention of postoperative adhesions following abdominal and pelvic surgery.

Dr Michael Myers, president and CEO stated “This is an exciting development for Innocoll. China is becoming an increasingly important and dynamic market for medical products and we are very pleased to have established this partnership with such an innovative company as Pioneer. I look forward to exploring additional partnership opportunities between our two companies.”

XinZhou Li, president and CEO from Pioneer Pharma stated “We are very excited to have finally reached the partnership agreement with Innocoll. Let us mark this day with remembrance as CollaGUARD will become a very important product in our current distribution channel. We believe that CollaGUARD has significant market potential and Pioneer will try to make it happen.”

CollaGUARD is a transparent bioresorbable film of 100% type I collagen developed using Innocoll’s proprietary CollaFilm technology. It is approved in Europe for the prevention of postoperative adhesions in patients undergoing abdominopelvic laparotomy or laparoscopy.  When tested in vivo, CollaGUARD increased the probability of remaining adhesion-free by more than six fold (P < 0.001) and significantly reduced the extent and severity of adhesions (P < 0.001).

CollaGUARD has been designed and engineered with a unique combination of features for optimal handling, ease-of-use, and antiadhesion performance. It is highly stable at room temperature and does not require any advanced preparation before use. The product is non-tacky and can be easily rolled for insertion through a trocar when implanted laparoscopically. CollaGUARD is available in a wide variety of sizes up to 20 x 30 cm; it may be cut and sutured if required and therefore used efficiently across a broad range of surgeries.

Postoperative adhesions are abnormal fibrous connections that can form between any apposing internal organ and serous membraneas a natural consequence of abdominopelvic surgery. Adhesions occur in almost 95% of laparotomies and may lead to serious complications such as intestinal obstruction, secondary female infertility, and chronic abdominal or pelvic pain. More than 30% of patients who undergo open gynecologic or general surgery are readmitted within 10 years for disorders that are considered directly or potentially related to adhesions, with an average of 2 readmissions per patient. In the United States, there are approximately 350,000 hospitalizations annually for adhesiolysis following gynaecologic or abdominal surgery, which account for almost 1 million inpatient days at a cost of $2.3 billion. Even for patients without complications, adhesions originating from a previous surgery can present significant surgical challenges and additional morbidity risks in subsequent operations.

Innocoll is a privately held, biopharmaceutical company focused on biodegradable surgical implants and topically applied healthcare products.