VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 26, 2024 / Canadian life sciences company Ondine Biomedical Inc. (LON:OBI) will present new research at the SPIE Photonics West conference in San Francisco, California. The presentation will provide details of an exploratory study showing that photodisinfection significantly reduces pathogens in the nose - a reservoir for bacteria - yet does not produce long-term adverse effects on the nasal microbiome. ¹ Organised by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, SPIE Photonics West is the largest annual event for optic and photonic technologies and one of the largest scientific conferences in the world.

These results demonstrate that Steriwave is an effective, potent, short-acting, and non-selective method of nasal decolonization, while permitting rapid recovery of the native microbiome at one week after treatment. The study involved analyzing nasal swabs from 35 healthy volunteers after being treated with Ondine's Steriwave® Nasal Photodisinfection System.

The oral presentation will be delivered by Ondine's Director of Research and Development, Dr Caetano Sabino, at 9am on Tuesday, 30 January 2024, as part of the "Photonic Diagnosis, Monitoring, Prevention, and Treatment of Infections and Inflammatory Diseases" session.

The "Microbiome Analysis of Photodynamic Nasal Decolonization" abstract can be accessed here .

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¹ The nasal microbiome consists of a complex community of microorganisms - fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria - that can act in a symbiotic relationship in the nasal cavity.

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About SPIE Photonics West

SPIE Photonics West is the optics and photonics industry's preeminent annual conference and exhibition and is one of the largest scientific conferences in the world. Its scope covers all areas regarding the use of light for scientific and technological applications. The conference brings together tens of thousands of researchers, innovators, engineers, and business leaders from across the globe for an engaging week of research sharing, collaboration forming, and innovation-inspiring exchanges. The week will include more than 4,500 technical presentations as well as showcasing over 1,200 companies in three focused exhibitions.

About Ondine Biomedical Inc.

Ondine Biomedical Inc. is a Canadian life science company innovating in the field of photodisinfection therapies. Ondine has a pipeline of investigational products, based on its proprietary photodisinfection platform, in various stages of development. Ondine's nasal photodisinfection system has a CE mark in Europe and the UK and is approved in Canada and several other countries under the name Steriwave®. In the US, it has been granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation and Fast Track status by the FDA and is currently undergoing clinical trials for regulatory approval. Products beyond nasal photodisinfection include therapies for a variety of medical indications such as chronic sinusitis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, burns, and other indications.

About Nasal Photodisinfection

Ondine's Steriwave® Nasal Photodisinfection System is a patented technology using a proprietary light-activated antimicrobial (photosensitizer) to destroy pathogens. The photodisinfection treatment is carried out by a trained healthcare professional and is an easy to use, painless, two-step process. The photosensitizer is applied to each nostril using a nasal swab, followed by illumination of the area with a specific wavelength of red laser light for less than five minutes. The light activates the photosensitizer, causing an oxidative burst that is lethal to all types of pathogens. A key benefit of this approach, unlike with antibiotics, is that pathogens do not develop resistance to the therapy.

Nasal decolonization with antibiotics is already standard practice in many hospitals prior to surgery, as pathogens in a patient's nasal cavities are a major cause of surgical site infections (SSIs). Nasal decolonization is recommended in the 2016 WHO Global guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infections, ^[1] and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) guidelines, published in May 2023, recommend nasal decolonization for major surgical procedures. ^[2] However, there is a growing need to reduce antibiotic use and find non-antibiotic methods of nasal decolonization as resistance rates have been reported as high as 81%. ^[3]

^[1] https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/integrated-health-services-(ihs)/ssi/fact-sheet-staphylococcus-web.pdf?sfvrsn=7e7266ed_2

^[2] Calderwood MS, Anderson DJ, Bratzler DW, et al. Strategies to prevent surgical site infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2023;44(5):695-720. doi:10.1017/ice.2023.67

^[3] Poovelikunnel T, Gethin G, Humphreys H. Mupirocin resistance: clinical implications and potential alternatives for the eradication of MRSA. J Antimicrob Chemother . 2015;70(10):2681-2692. doi:10.1093/jac/dkv169

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SOURCE: Ondine Biomedical Inc