Spiracur and Century Medical Announce Multiple SNaP System Sales in Japan After Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Grants Reimbursement

Proven Advanced Wound Care Device Offers Patients in Japan Effective, Non-powered Treatment for Chronic, Acute Wounds; Improves Quality of Life

SUNNYVALE, Calif., and TOKYO, Oct. 14, 2013 – Spiracur Inc. and Century Medical, Inc. (CMI) today announced multiple system sales of the SNaP® Wound Care System to hospitals throughout Tokyo. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) granted reimbursement pricing for a mechanically powered, single-use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) device on July 1, 2013, and CMI began selling the ultraportable SNaP system to doctors in Japan on August 1, 2013.
Spiracur’s SNAP System provides patients suffering from chronic or acute wounds with a proven, advanced wound care solution that does not require batteries or electricity. The device weighs 2.2 ounces/62 grams and is completely silent, offering patients discreet wound care treatment that improves quality of life.
“The SNaP System delivers an effective wound care therapy that heals wounds faster than traditional dressings and does not interfere with our patient’s daily activities or sleep,” said Kiyonori Harii, M.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, and Chief Professor, Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Kyorin University School of Medicine in Tokyo. “This new device provides tremendous value because we are able to intervene in the wound healing process earlier due to its ease-of-use and proven outcomes.”
“It is clear there was an unmet need in Japan until now, as the response to the SNaP System has been overwhelmingly positive in just two months of selling the groundbreaking system,” said Mr. Akira Hoshino, president and chief executive officer of Century Medical, Inc. “We are very happy to be partnering with a successful American company focused on the delivery of treatment to the patient. The SNaP System’s small size coupled with its proven efficacy offers Japanese wound care practitioners a new, safe device for chronic and acute wound care treatment while simultaneously improving patients’ quality of life.”
Spiracur is recognized for creating a new category of chronic and acute wound management solutions. Several clinical studies have been published supporting the SNaP Wound Care System as an effective alternative to powered NPWT, including a comparative Randomized Controlled Trial that also showed the powerful, small device makes a positive difference in patients’ quality of life.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer the SNaP System to doctors, wound care nurses and patients in Japan through our exclusive distributor Century Medical,” said Gary Restani, president and chief executive officer for Spiracur Inc. “As evidenced by the immediate demand for our wound care device, we are confident Japan will become a very important market for the SNaP Wound Care System due to the Japanese surgeons’ dedication to improving chronic and acute wound care treatment for patients.”
About Century Medical
Century Medical, Inc. (CMI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation (“ITOCY” – OCTYMKTS) and one of the largest Japanese general trading companies with $125 billion in annual trading transactions. CMI has more than 300 employees, offices in eight major cities in Japan and 39 years’ experience marketing medical devices in Japan. CMI has been a pioneering force successfully introducing many new technologies to the Japanese healthcare community.
About Spiracur Inc.
Spiracur Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a privately held medical device company focused on the development of innovative wound healing technologies. Spiracur was founded out of the Stanford University Biodesign Innovation Program in 2007. Its first product, the SNaP Wound Care System for the treatment of chronic and acute wounds, is the result of patient and clinician feedback that powered negative pressure wound therapies were too cumbersome. The company’s ciSNaP® Closed Incision System with proprietary controlled tension relief is designed to improve healing of high-risk surgical incisions. Both devices have been cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and have received CE Mark approval. For more information, please visit http://spiracur.com.
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