Wound Healing
Slow-healing Leg Ulcers - Consequences for the Individual and Society
About 1% of the population risks suffering from chronic leg ulcers at some point in their lives, a risk that increases with age. Chronic leg ulcers are an extensive problem in the healthcare sector and a widespread disease.
Chronic leg ulcers are slow-healing wounds on the lower leg or feet, usually caused by poor circulation. This means the skin does not receive sufficient nutrients and oxygen to heal effectively. In turn, poor circulation may depend on other disorders, for example, diabetes sufferers running an increased risk of contracting leg ulcers due to compromised vascular function. For the sufferer, a slow-healing leg ulcer is often a social handicap, with severe pain in the ulcers themselves, or the legs.
Patients with slow-healing leg ulcers generate considerable costs to healthcare providers. In the West, the treatment of these conditions consumes substantial carer time and the cost of treating each patient is high. Various sector sources estimate that the number of patients with slow-healing leg ulcers will increase rapidly over the coming years as a result of more diabetics, an ageing and heavier population.
Accordingly, there is a pressing need to develop new wound care products that can improve treatment, and generate healthcare savings, while simultaneously enhancing patient care quality.
Existing Therapies
Dressings are still the foundation of all leg ulcer treatment, because most ulcers heal better with effective compression using a bandage or support stocking. This treatment involves washing the ulcer, combating infection and applying dressings. In some cases, patients may need a vascular surgery procedure or skin transplant to accelerate healing and alleviate pain. The healing time of ulcers varies from one or a few months to several years. Traditional treatments have shortcomings and there is a recognized need for enhanced methods and technologies to accelerate healing. However, a new generation of promising biological wound-healing products and technologies to regenerate the skin are emerging in the wake of the advances that have been made in wound-healing cell biology over the last 20 years. These are termed active products and technologies, which are being developed to accelerate healing by creating a favourable cellular environment. ChronSeal is in this wound care product category.
Market
The ageing population is a key factor for the market growth of new innovative wound-healing products. This ageing population represents a significant portion of the healthcare cases related to chronic wounds. At present, chronic leg ulcers represent over 40% of the market for active wound care products, a market that has traced annual growth of over 10% over the last decade1). The estimated global market value of active wound-healing products was USD 1.7 bn in 2005, and sector commentators estimate it at USD 3 bn in 20112).
There are currently over 100 companies operating in active wound care products, competing in various market segments. Players like Smith & Nephew and Johnson & Johnson have broad product portfolios, and are active in several segments of the wound-healing market.
1) Frost & Sullivan 2005. 2) Frost & Sullivan 2005 and BCC Research.