Derma Sciences Opens First International Office in London

PRINCETON, N.J., May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Derma Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSCI), a medical device and pharmaceutical company focused on advanced wound care, today announced that it has established an international subsidiary, Derma Sciences Europe Limited, and will soon be opening an office near London, England.  

"Europe represents a substantial growth opportunity for Derma Sciences and is a logical next step in expanding our sales efforts," said Edward J. Quilty, Derma Sciences' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "Europe currently dominates the global advanced wound care market, representing more than 40% in annual advanced wound care sales volumes. In addition, Europe leads all other regions in the utilization of moist wound care dressings, a category in which we excel.

"Our key product, MEDIHONEY® is already sold in Europe through distributors in such countries as Germany, Ireland, and Austria.  In the UK, we will employ several direct sales representatives.  We are confident that MEDIHONEY's strong brand name recognition will help Derma open doors throughout the continent and provide our sales force with a platform to expose customers to our other advanced wound care products, including the XTRASORB™ line and ALGICELL® Ag.  We believe that these novel products will provide clinicians with more effective and cost-efficient dressings to manage wounds and burns, just as they have in the North American market.  

Derma Sciences also announced that it has hired Maeve Kelly as Managing Director, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa regions).  Ms. Kelly will report directly to Barry J. Wolfenson, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development.

Prior to joining Derma Sciences, Ms. Kelly was International Sales Manager for Clearstream Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of medical devices.  From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Kelly held a similar role at Medline Industries, a large, privately owned medical device company. Before working at Medline, Ms. Kelly worked in management and sales roles at Microtek Medical, Saf-T-Pak, Kimberly-Clark, and Universal Hospital Supplies.  Ms. Kelly is a registered nurse, trained at the Royal Society of Child Nursing in London, England and St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

Regarding Ms. Kelly, Mr. Wolfenson commented, "With over 23 years of medical device sales experience, existing customer relationships throughout Europe, a proven ability to lead and develop sales teams, and her familiarity with wound care, Maeve will have a swift and positive impact on our aggressive expansion plan." He added, "Maeve has demonstrated a strong ability to forge new productive relationships with distributors, which is a key component of our plans for the region. We also plan to leverage her nursing background as we market our advanced wound care products to healthcare professionals in the EMEA regions."

About Derma Sciences, Inc.

Derma Sciences is a global medical device and pharmaceutical company focused on wound care.  Its key product, MEDIHONEY®, is the leading brand of honey-based dressings for the management of wounds and burns.  The product has been shown to be effective in a variety of indications, and was the focus of a positive large-scale randomized controlled trial on leg ulcers.  Other key novel products introduced into the $14 billion global wound care market include XTRASORB™ for better management of wound exudates, and BIOGUARD™ for infection prevention.  Derma also has in development DSC127, a novel pharmaceutical for accelerated wound healing and scar reduction.  DSC127, an angiotensin analog, has shown positive healing results in multiple pre-clinical animal models.  One possible mode of action of the drug is the up-regulation of mesenchymal stem cells at the wound site.  Derma expects to announce the key efficacy endpoint results from this study by the end of 2010.

For more information about Derma Sciences, Inc., visit http://www.dermasciences.com.

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SOURCE Derma Sciences, Inc.