Willingsford has been invited to present at a symposium organised by the University of Gibraltar with the title: Novel approaches for Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of infectious diseases. The symposium will among others focus on AMR - antimicrobial resistance.

Willingsford has been selected to be part of the UK Healthcare Pavilion 2022-2023 by the Department for International Trade. Willingsford was selected based on its innovative technology, MPPT, which is effective in treating wound infections, including antimicrobial resistant infections. MPPT is available as Amicapsil for clinical use and SertaSil for veterinary use.

Willingsford gave an oral presentation of the outcome of its latest clinical study at the 61'th annual meeting of the International Spinal Cord Society in Vancouver, Canada. See presentation here

Willingsford gives oral presentations on the treatment of antimicrobial resistant wound infections and presents a poster on the treatment of burns at the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS).

Evidence

Clinical studies

Clinical case reports

Veterinary studies

Veterinary case reports

Health-Economics

Antimicrobial resistance

See abstract: Micropore particle technology effectively treats infected wounds and pressure injuries in patients with spinal cord injury.

See the story on Women with Wheels.

Raquel Siganporia, partner at Bolt Burdon & Kemp is an attorney specialised in clinical negligence, a recurrent TED-speaker and Trustee at SIA - Spinal Injuries Association. As a child, Raquel herself was paralysed due to clinical negligence. Raquel has own experience with pressure ulcers / bed sores / pressure injuries and has secured one of the biggest compensations due to pressure injuries ever to be awarded in the UK. On the blog of Bolt Burdon & Kemp, Raquel raises the issue whether people in general, and spinal injuried people in particular, know of Acapsil, and if not, why not...

Read Raquel's article.

Moved by Lord Borwick

That this House takes note of the issues facing people with disabilities and the potential for improved treatment and outcomes in the next 50 years.
During this debate, as shown in the videoclip above, Baroness Masham of Ilton, Countess of Swinton (CB), founder and president of SIA - UK Spinal Injuries Association, pointed out that Amicapsil is an effective treatment for pressure injuries and that SIA is hoping to see Amicapsil included on the NHS reimbursement list. Baroness Masham says that Amicapsil could save the NHS millions of pounds annually as well as help in the common fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Amicapsil is an approved treatment for wounds and wound infections

Baroness Masham’s speech can be seen in writing here and video here.

A British premier-league football club has had very good results from the use of Amicapsil on wounds in players. As Amicapsil is sprinkled onto the wound in the form of a white powder, the club had asked for assurances that the UKAD would not object to its use. The UKAD posed the question to the WADA and the answer was clear: Amicapsil used on wounds will not violate anti-doping rules.

Lord Lansley moved the House of Lords, UK Parliament, to take note of Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance 2019–2024: the UK’s five-year national action plan.

During this debate Baroness Masham of Ilton, Countess of Swinton (CB) made a spoken contribution:

“We need better preventive measures as well as alternative treatments, including innovative ways to use the body’s own immune system and healthy bacteria.

I am trying a new treatment for wounds—Acapsil. It is micropore particle technology, a white powder applied to the wound surface. It consists of small particles composed of a network of very fine pores. It removes the toxins, and enzymes are excreted by the wound surface. It does not kill the micro-organisms. It is hoped that it is effective on antimicrobial-resistant infections.”

Above is an excerpt of Baroness Masham’s speech. Baroness Masham is furthermore the founder and president of SIA, Spinal Injury Association.

Read the Invest in Hampshire article about Willingsford and the new approval achieved.

The Intended Use of the MPPT technology has today for the EU been approved as ”Treatment for wounds”. This upgrade has been approved by the responsible Notified Body "Eurofins" based a strong clinical data package and a benign safety profile. MPPT is the only medical device approved as a treatment for wounds.

The Quality Management System implemented by Willingsford Ltd. today received certification under the new and revised ISO-standard for the manufacturing of medical devices: ISO13485:2016.

The certification was performed by the European Group Eurofins.

A new study published today in the US medical journal WOUNDS has proven that wound infection must be treated by helping the body establish the right bacteria instead of current medical practice, which is to kill them. This is a fundamental shift in how we view infection.

It has for decades been standard practise to use antibiotics and antiseptics to kill bacteria in a wound with the aim to remove an infection. However, in 2016, the FDA concluded that wound dressings containing antibiotics and antiseptics do not remove wound infections and do not improve healing.

The outer surfaces of our body are in constant contact with the environment and it is not possible for the body to keep these sterile. Instead the body actively populates all external surfaces with particular microbes (the microbiome) to ensure there is no “vacant space”. This makes it very difficult for disease-causing microbes to gain a foothold or for one species to suddenly take over control. However, antibiotics and antiseptics indiscriminately kill bacteria and they therefore destroy the balance the body is trying to create. The result is that these treatments do not assist healing, but may even delay healing.

Using a new micropore particle technology (MPPT), it has been possible to reliably remove wound infections and support healing for a wide range of acute and chronic wounds and ulcers. This approach does not kill the bacteria but instead creates conditions that enable the body’s immune system to establish the correct balance of microbes in the wound, and achieving this balance means removing the infection. These findings therefore provide evidence that infections in the wound have to be treated fundamentally differently to infections in internal sterile body regions.

Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies said:

“Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is an escalating global threat that puts millions of lives across the world in danger. We cannot rely on the development of new antibiotics alone to mitigate this threat. We need better preventative measures as well as alternative treatments, including innovative ways to use the body’s own immune system and healthy bacteria. I am proud to say the UK are leaders in research into this area.”

Prof. Dame Sally Davies also serves as Executive Board Member of WHO and is Chair of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Anti-Microbial-Resistance.

Background Information:

1. In the UK there are annually 2.2 million wounds requiring extended treatment and the direct costs of care to the NHS is £5.3 billion annually (Guest et al. 2015). In community care, Guest et al. (2017) reported that 48% of the wounds are chronic, demonstrating the limitations of current approaches.
2. The main reason wounds do not heal is due to infection (Leaper et al. 2015).
3. Micropore particle technology (MPPT) consists of small particles filled with pores. They use a combination of capillary flow and evaporation to remove exudate on the wound. This micro-pumping process in parallel removes the toxins and enzymes that bacteria and fungi secrete to inhibit the immune cells and creates holes in the biofilm that bacteria and fungi secrete as a shield against the immune cells. The result is that MPPT disrupts the weaponry of bacteria and fungi, whereby the immune cells regain their ability to selective remove bacteria and fungi to create the balance it wants in the microbiome.

Reference:
Article Title: Time to Abandon Antimicrobial Approaches in Wound Healing: A Paradigm Shift
Journal:  WOUNDS – A Compendium of Clinical Research and Practice,  https://www.woundsresearch.com/article/sams-dodd
Publication date: 01 November 2018

A new study published today in the US medical journal WOUNDS has proven that wound infection must be treated by helping the body's immune system establish the right microbiome instead of current medical practice, which is to eradicate it. This is a fundamental shift in how we view infection.

Publication
Title: Time to Abandon Antimicrobial Approaches in Wound Healing: A Paradigm Shift
Authors: Jeanette Sams-Dodd and Frank Sams-Dodd
Journal:  WOUNDS – A Compendium of Clinical Research and Practice,
Publication date: 01 November 2018

Clinical audit at Bristol University Hospital, covering 9 acute dehisced surgical wounds and 1 category 4 pressure ulcer (Ryan E (2017) JoWC 26(7)413).
MPPT was able to induce a clean healing wound in 3-5 days. All wounds reached closure. Standard-of-care is 1 week with UrgoClean followed by 2 or more weeks with NPWT to reach the same state of healing as was achieved by 3-5 days with MPPT.
Health economic calculations indicate that MPPT resulted in savings of 67% to reach the healing wound state, when compared to the 1 week with UrgoClean and 2 weeks with NPWT.

Ryan E (2017) The use of a micropore particle technology in the treatment of acute wounds. Journal of Wound Care 26(7): 404-413.

 

This month, a large clinical study was published in the recognised American scientific journal WOUNDS. The study shows that a novel Micropore Particle Technology (MPPT), when used in the healing of complicated wounds, will reduce by 60% the time to rid the wound of the complicating factors and steer it onto the path of optimal healing. It also shows that patients hospitalised due to wounds can be discharged 30% sooner. The technology removes wound infections without the use of antibiotics. Consequently, it is able to remove antibiotic resistant infections from wounds. Annually, the NHS spends £5.3 billion on direct wound care. The first product resulting from this new technology, Acapsil, can save 21% of those costs, potentially allowing the NHS to free up £1.1 bn annually for other purposes. These calculations do not take into account the additional benefits of the reduced risks of complications or the wound becoming chronic. Nor do they consider the advantages to the patients who can resume normal life, or the reduced use of antibiotics; we can preserve the remaining effective antibiotics as last resort for other diseases and avoid creating new resistance. The wounds and ulcers in the study were all severe and needed hospitalisation and the intervention of a consultant. Wounds constitute a key point of entry for infections to enter the rest of the body. The technology will, therefore, have positive implications beyond wound healing, as it will prevent sepsis or infections spreading to internal organs. “Acapsil is simple but forceful. Indirectly, it supports the patient’s own immune system and enables it to progress the wound towards healing,” explain the joint managing directors of Willingsford Ltd., Frank and Jeanette Sams-Dodd who have dedicated the past nine years to the development of Acapsil. “The immune system of the individual patient knows best what needs to be done in order to heal a wound. If the wound will not heal, it is because the immune system is being inhibited. By cancelling this inhibition, the immune system can take control and push the wound towards closure;” They go on: “We will over the coming years experience a change in patient’s expectations of how their complicated wounds will heal and close, instead of just being managed - as is often the case at the moment. This progress will have enormous socio-economic impact. Family breadwinners need not lose their jobs. The middle-aged and elderly will be able to live unaided or independently for much longer, as wounds and ulcers often have a disabling impact on lives.” Acapsil was approved across the entire EU in 2016. It has since been evaluated by the NHS at University Hospital Bristol. Their evaluation confirmed the findings of the larger comparative clinical study published today.

Read the article in WOUNDS

 

Southampton, UK, 22 May 2017 - Press Release

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Willingsford Ltd. and the product, Acapsil. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed or implied in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk that Acapsil and the revenues generated from Acapsil may be affected by competition; unexpected new data; safety and technical issues; clinical trials not being completed in a timely manner, not confirming previous results, or not achieving the intended clinical endpoints; pre-clinical trials not predicting future results; label expansion requests or filings not being submitted in a timely manner; regulatory approval being delayed or not received; or manufacturing and supply issues. The potential for Acapsil may also be affected by government and commercial reimbursement and pricing decisions, the pace of market acceptance, or scientific, regulatory and other issues and risks inherent in the development and commercialisation of pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

Bilyayeva O, Neshta VV, Golub A, Sams-Dodd F. (2017) Comparative Clinical Study of the Wound Healing Effects of a Novel Micropore Particle Technology: Effects on Wounds, Venous Leg Ulcers, and Diabetic Foot Ulcers.
Wounds Epub 2017 May 25.

The manuscript of the 266 patient clinical study with Acapsil is published in the American scientific journal WOUNDS: A Compendium of Clinical Research and Practice.

Willingsford was today awarded a grant by Innovate UK for its micropore particle technology (MPPT), which has demonstrated clinical efficacy in wound healing.

Willingsford's lead product, Acapsil receives the CE-mark that allows its commercialisation for use on wounds in humans in the entire European Community.

Willingsford has co-sponsored a study of the burden of wound care in the UK to promote a better understanding of the extent of this healthcare problem.

The publication is available here:
Guest JF, Ayoub N, McIlwraith T, et al. Health economic burden that wounds impose on the National Health Service in the UK. BMJ Open 2015;5:e009283. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009283.

Willingsford wins place at UK’s largest innovation show, Innovate UK, November 9-10, 2015.
Innovate 2015 is the UK’s largest multi-sector innovation event and is organised by Innovate UK and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). It is set up to create opportunities for export and investment for the UK’s most innovative companies.

A scientific study comparing the effects of SertaSil on wound healing to a topical antibiotic is published in Journal of Wound Care. See the abstract.

Scientific American Worldview 2014 features SertaSil in their new annual issue tracking innovation globally.

See the pdf here: SertaSil 2014 SAWorldView

Dr. Sams-Dodd from Willingsford gave the plenary lecture "Functional Approaches to CNS Drug Discovery and the Potential for Drugs with Multiple Targets as a Mechanism of Action" at the 8'th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Confrerence in Miami, Florida, USA.

The Equestrian Life Magazine publishes an article on the use of SertaSil in equestian wound care. The article is available as a pdf: Equestian Life Magazine

Dr. Sams-Dodd from Wililngsford publishes online article on drug discovery: How To Lower Attrition Rates In Labs. Pharmalive Dec 13, 2012.

Dr. Sams-Dodd from Wililngsford publishes online article on drug discovery: R&D Spending & How To Find New Drugs. Pharmalot Dec. 4, 2012.