Comparative Study Confirms Enox Biopharma's Antimicrobial Superiority to Commercially Available Silver Coated Catheters

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Enox Biopharma, Inc., a leader in nitric oxide delivery technology for the prevention of hospital acquired infections today announced on line publication of scientific results demonstrating superior efficacy in blocking growth of E.coli on the surface of nitric oxide releasing devices as compared to current market leader's silver coated catheters. The paper was published by Professor Yossef Av-Gay's lab at the University of British Columbia.

Enox's nitric oxide device technology renders medical devices like catheters and endotracheal tubes antimicrobial by sequestering nitric oxide within them in a stable state. Nitric Oxide, which is released by the device over a period of about 2 weeks once used clinically, is a potent antimicrobial agent without the drug resistance issues that plague antibiotics. Previous peer reviewed publications have demonstrated the antimicrobial properties of catheters treated with our technology in comparison to untreated catheters.

The paper titled "Comparative efficacy of commercially available and emerging antimicrobial urinary catheters against E. coli infection in vitro" was published in the August 2011 issue of the peer reviewed journal UROLOGY. The paper reports results from an investigation of the ability of four different types of catheters to prevent growth of microorganisms suspended in fluid medium (planktonic growth) and on the surface of catheters in the form of a biofilm. The study compared a non-antimicrobial catheter, an Enox nitric oxide releasing catheter, a silver coated catheter and an antibiotic coated catheter. The study concluded that both the Enox and antibiotic catheters were effective in preventing planktonic growth and biofilm formation whereas the silver and uncoated catheters were not.

"This study confirms the superiority of nitric oxide as an antimicrobial," commented Professor Av-Gay, who is the President and Founder of Enox Biopharma. "Silver proved to be as ineffective as a non-antimicrobial catheter whereas both the Enox and antibiotic catheters were very effective in reducing and eliminating microorganisms. It must be realized that Enox's ability to do this without antibiotics is a significant advantage as use of nitric oxide avoids the antibiotic resistance issues that come with the use of antibiotics."

John Rewcastle, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Enox, commented, "Recently published clinical results completely independent of Enox have shown silver to not perform as well as hoped in a clinical setting. The results from the current study substantiate these observations and provide a scientific foundation for this disappointment. Enox is uniquely positioned to truly render medical devices antimicrobial without the use of antibiotics to reduce hospital acquired infections which represent a major health risk worldwide and a significant financial burden to healthcare systems."

About Enox Biopharma Inc.

Enox Biopharma, Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company with proprietary methods to sequester nitric oxide (NO) into medical devices to make them antimicrobial. The innate immune system uses NO to block microbial growth - embedding NO into medical devices makes them antimicrobial. Enox's device technology is applicable to any indwelling polymer medical device including, but not limited to catheters, endotracheal tubes and central venous catheters. Infections from these devices, which are often not reimbursed by Medicare, represent a massive financial burden to healthcare systems worldwide.

For more information, please contact:

John C. Rewcastle, Ph.D, CEO or
Itamar David, CFO
Enox Biopharma, Inc.
604.637.9744 phone

888.224.7259 fax
[email protected]
www.enoxbiopharma.com

SOURCE Enox Biopharma, Inc.