NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has awarded WynnVision a Phase IIB Grant “Toward urinary catheterization with long-term resistance to bacterial colonization” (R44DK103398).(1) Work supported by this grant will focus on development of novel coatings that reduce bacterial biofilm formation on silicone medical devices. Research will include addressing FDA concerns (510k clearance), quality control, and prototype manufacturing and commercialization. WynnVision has received four prior competitive grant awards over the last 6 years to fund research and development of coatings for medical devices which have resulted in a granted patent and pending applications to protect its coating technologies.
In the United States, urinary tract infections comprise about 30 % of healthcare associated infections in the acute care setting. Of these, 73 % are Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI).(2) People who are older or infirm and the disabled have higher incidences of CAUTIs because their catheters are indwelling for longer times. Such infections compromise catheters and lead to more serious medical infections. WynnVision has developed several innovative WinGard (WG) coatings applied to silicone that reduce biofilms, do not leach, and show promise for imparting long-term resistance to biofilm formation. These qualities promise to reduce CAUTIs, patient suffering, and medical care costs. CAUTIs, patient suffering, and medical care costs. WynnVision will be seeking commercial partners for its coating technologies.
Kenneth Wynne, PhD, President of WynnVision LLC, is an established researcher who retired in 2019, becoming Commonwealth Professor Emeritus, Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA. Ken has helped raise about $5 M in grant funding and guided WynnVision scientists and engineers toward achieving challenging research objectives. His experience has included tailoring surfaces to obtain specific properties such as repelling ice, killing bacteria on contact, or releasing biologically active agents. He has over 140 publications and 30 patents. Ken founded WynnVision LLC in 2016 to translate his experience in surface modification at the molecular level into products for relieving pain and suffering for patients due to adverse events associated with medical devices.
(1) The content of this announcement is solely the responsibility of WynnVision LLC and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
(2) Chuang L, Tambyah PA. Catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy. 2021;27(10):1400-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiac.2021.07.022.