New partnerships brings world-class excellence to treatment of wounds, scars and stretch marks

ERIS PHARMACEUTICALS HAS PARTNERED WITH STRATPHARMA SWITZERLAND TO BECOME THE EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR OF ITS SUITE OF WOUND- HEALING PRODUCTS.

Eris Pharmaceuticals, a dynamic healthcare company with continuous growth in Australia and the overseas markets, is focused on delivering high quality healthcare and dermocosmetic products. The recent strategic collaboration with Stratpharma Switzerland means Eris can now add the Stratpharma suite of medically developed products that help manage and improve the healing of wounds, radiation dermatitis, scars and stretch marks to its product offering.

We speak with Stratpharma CEO, Darren Kerr: “Stratamed and Strataderm have already made an impressive breakthrough in the Australian aesthetic medical arena, with hundreds of practitioners recommending their patients to incorporate these products as part of their wound healing and abnormal scar management protocols.

“Our valued practitioner clients will soon also be faced with patients asking about the first clinically proven registered topical medical device for the prevention and treatment of stretch marks, Stratamark.

“At this stage we are in the process of working with key opinion leaders, including obstetricians, gynaecologists, aesthetic physicians, nurses and midwives about Stratamark in preparation for launching a major consumer- oriented campaign.

“In an open label, prospective, cohort study into the prevention of stretch marks in pregnant women, only 18.2 percent of patients developed stretch marks, as compared to the accepted prevalence of between 60 and 70 percent of patients not using Stratamark. Among those who developed stretch marks, only mild to moderate stretch marks were observed. No severe or very severe cases were reported. Stratamark was therefore shown to significantly reduce the risk of getting stretch marks, when used during pregnancy for the prevention of stretch marks.

“Upon further analysis of this open label, prospective, cohort study conducted in the Czech Republic, Stratamark in monotherapy was shown to significantly reduce the severity and visibility of stretch marks, as well as the associated itching, when used for 95 +/- 45 days.

“An Australian multi-centred, in-patient placebo study is currently underway to build on the body of evidence available.

“Completing our product portfolio, StrataXRT is currently used in hospitals and is poised for the wider use in the private clinical setting. StrataXRT is TGA approved for use as a primary wound dressing for open wounds. It is used to relieve low-grade inflammatory changes such as dry, itching, flaking, peeling and irritated skin. For more severe inflammatory changes, StrataXRT reduces pain, redness and heat and helps soothe the exposed skin areas.

“Eris Pharmaceuticals is focused in delivering high quality products in the Australian market and internationally in more than 25 countries. With our generics and dermocosmetic products, especially for the Australian
market, we are focusing on niche products and highly specialised formulations, covering numerous therapeutic categories, needs, and demographics.

“By establishing strong synergies with companies like Stratpharma, Eris Pharmaceuticals will strive to ensure the provision of products with an added value to each patient in their treatment.”

Specialist Field Sales Manager for Eris, John Manus, says: “Especially for the Stratpharma products, we do not consider ourselves simply as the exclusive distributor; we are investing in randomised clinical trials and partnering with the industry.

“We are partnering currently with hospital departments in public and private clinics across all of our range.

“We work with dermatologists, plastic surgeons, general surgeons, ENT surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, obstetricians, medical laser clinics, radiation oncology clinics, neonatal departments, and burns units.
“We partner with all of these specialists to develop a greater level of understanding and further our research into silicone gels and best practice for wound care.

“As well as our local study with Stratamark, we are conducting a multi-centred randomised placebo controlled clinical study involving StrataXRT for radiation oncology with the head investigator at St George Hospital, Sydney.

“We also have case studies going ahead with private clinics to assess the products in day-to-day practice. Some examples include developing post-laser treatment protocols involving Stratamed (for applying immediately post resurfacing and rejuvenation procedure) and Stratamark (for treatment of stretch marks in combination with laser devices) and a case study series involving plastic surgeons incorporating both Stratamed and Stratamark in their post breast augmentation protocol to help minimise scarring and the appearance of stretch marks.

“Our focus in this new venture is to partner with the industry to achieve the best possible outcome for your patients, including faster healing times and better recovery.

“Our team members form an experienced, talented hospital sales force that understands the need of the nurses and the specialists.

“We offer a wide range of patient support material – from information on each of the products to brochures, sample boxes and tear- offs for the patient to take home or to their pharmacy.

“Eris Pharmaceuticals is poised for success, and we deliver our service in a speedy manner, whether it be an order, a query, or a request for an in-service.

“We are looking to partner with our nurses and clinicians to invest into further research and development to optimise wound care practices from large tertiary institutions to your clinic.” AMP

For more information contact Eris Pharmaceuticals on 03 9690 8473 www.eris-pharma.com.au

DR ROBERT MCDONALD BMed (Hons), BSc, MMed, FACD www.skyblue.com.auRobert McDonald BMed (Hons), BSc, MMed, FACD, studied medicine at Newcastle University and has obtained a Masters Degree in skin cancer research. He became a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists in 1995.Since then he has worked in private practice in Sydney and established Sky Blue Dermatology in 2000. Robert is also a visiting medical officer at St.Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney. What do you enjoy about being a dermatologist? I love variety and the different people we meet – today I’ve seen street people to a famous British celebrity. Dermatology combines medicine and surgery and it is rewarding addressing such a variety of skin concerns. How important is abnormal scar minimisation as part of your work? We are always trying to minimise abnormal scarring and produce a nice cosmetic outcome, and patients are frequently asking us if they should use vitamin E or oil after treatments. These ointments are popular but lack scientific evidence. What scars cause concern? We are more worried about the possibility of abnormal scars in certain body locations where wounds tend to stretch and cause broad elongated scars such as on the trunk. Also complex surgical procedures on the face may result in abnormal scars that are more visible than our patients would like. We see a range of abnormal scars including thickened raised scars that are sometimes the result of surgery or trauma. How do you address scarring concerns? There are a number of factors that relate to abnormal scars and how well people heal. Our body is remarkable and its ability to heal is amazing. The end cosmetic result relates to the body’s inherent healing ability as well as the surgeon’s technique. How do Stratamed and Strataderm fit into your practice? I’ve been using and recommending Strataderm and Stratamed for several years. People want a product after surgery because they are worried about scars and appreciate something small and evidence-based that isn’t ridiculously expensive. Silicone sheets were not practical or aesthetically pleasing. They had to be taken off and rewashed so were not so hygienic. They were also harder for compliance whereas these gels work well for compliance. You’re also using StrataXRT. What have your observations been so far? One of my patients, aged 61, presented in November 2014 with a graft donor scar on her thigh that was the size of a small envelope. She had a melanoma removed from her calve which had to be repaired at the point of excision. When I saw her in February 2015, she was still having problems with healing of the donor site; the wound was still weeping. I recommended StrataXRT and it relieved the itching and burning within two days and the wound healed within two weeks. Another of my patients, aged 64, had a chronic wound from squamous cell cancer treatment. Bone was exposed in the areas where he had radiotherapy on the front of his scalp in 2010. Subsequent to the radiotherapy he had a non-healing wound. We started using StrataXRT a few months ago and now we have some granulation skin growing slowly over the bone. It is not entirely due to the StrataXRT, but it is helping. (We’ve also applied different dressings, Vaseline impregnated gauze and proprietary preparations). The main plus with StrataXRT is that it is not irritating for the skin while we are aiming to try and promote some healing of the skin over the exposed bone.