Standard-Issue Copper-Based Antimicrobial Military Wound Dressing
Abstract
The long-term goal of this project is to establish an enabling antimicrobial technology aimed at providing a range of anti-infective materials for use by the military. Building on prior accomplishments from previously funded efforts, the goal under this award is to develop and obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for an affordable, effective antimicrobial gauze and reduces the frequency of dressing changes in prolonged field care environments. iFyber, the lead company for this effort, will achieve this goal by developing a copper-based antimicrobial dressing. Copper is known to limit healthcare-associated microbial infections and provide a more cost-effective solution to silver. Copper is one of twenty-six essential elements utilized by the human body, and thus, a copper-loaded dressing is expect to have limited negative impact on human health. Development of this dressing will entail production of various prototype dressing materials that will be down-selected to a final product using various laboratory tests of antimicrobial activity and safety that will be cleared by the FDA for use as a military standard issue wound dressing, which will ultimately be introduced to civilian populations. This effort with have significant impact on the Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program as it fills a significant gap in the program’s portfolio related to the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) as it addresses a number of key focus areas including the development of countermeasures for multidrug-resistant organisms and prevention of biofilm formation. This product development effort fills this gap and addresses these unmet needs through a standard issue antimicrobial combat dressing. For these efforts, iFyber has assembled a significant partnership between iFyber’s innovative scientists, the University of Miami, which has extensive expertise in testing and advanced wound dressings for military applications and H&H Medical as a supply chain and commercialization partner. These partnerships are expected to accelerate the development of the proposed standard issue antimicrobial dressing, ultimately leading to FDA clearance of the dressing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2010915
Entities
People
- Aaron Strickland
Organizations
- United States Army
- iFyber (United States)