ProCyte Launches Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel
Company's Peptide-Copper Product to be Sold for Wound Care Applications
KIRKLAND, Wash., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ProCyte Corporation (Nasdaq: PRCY) today said
that it has launched its first product, Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel, for the care and management of
chronic and acute wounds. Commensurate with product launch, the company has received its first
order from a Seattle-based distributor of wound care products.
"We expect that this unique topical gel will create a new demand for pharmaceutically superior
wound care products. A tremendous body of scientific effort and clinical study has gone into
Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel," said Joseph Ashley, ProCyte's president and chief executive officer.
"And we believe that Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel will offer an important wound care solution to
patients who suffer from a variety of wound types, including bedsores, diabetic ulcers, pressure
sores, and surgical wounds."
Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel is a new type of hydrogel. Hydrogels belong to a group of moist wound
dressings, which accounted for an estimated $300 million in industry-wide sales in 1995.
Hydrogels allow wounds to retain appropriate levels of moisture while providing a barrier against
outside contaminants.
Topically-applied Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel contains a naturally occurring tripeptide complexed with
copper. Copper is known to play a vital role in the action of certain enzyme systems in the body.
One such enzyme, lysyl oxidase, is responsible for collagen formation -- an essential tissue
component. Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel provides an environment which allows natural healing to
occur.
Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel received FDA clearance earlier this year for commercial sales in the
United States. In preparation for product launch, ProCyte has been building its own dedicated
sales force and establishing select distributorships to broaden product introduction. Iamin(R)
Hydrating Gel will initially be promoted to health care professionals who treat patients in nursing
homes, home health care and hospital environments. The product, which is Medicare
reimbursable, will be sold in both three ounce and one-half ounce tubes.
Iamin(R) Hydrating Gel becomes the flagship of ProCyte's planned wound care product line. To
complement its commitment to providing innovative wound care products, the company also
acquired the exclusive worldwide rights outside of Asia to a highly flexible polymer technology for
wound care applications, including drug delivery.
ProCyte plans to continue to develop superior, proprietary wound care products or acquire
additional products and technology that build on its commitment to research and development
expertise in the complex field of wound assessment and treatment.
ProCyte is a development-stage healthcare company that, in addition to its innovative wound care
products focus, is pursuing commercialization of its patented family of copper-based compounds
for potential treatments of hair loss, wound healing and inflammatory bowel disease.
/CONTACT: Karen L. Hedine, Vice President of ProCyte Corporation, 206-820-4548/ |
