Pertinax Pharma announced the commercial launch of its proprietary Pertinax technology, which provides controlled and sustained delivery of chlorhexidine (CHX). The new technology has a range of potential applications across the wound care, dentistry, medical device and veterinary markets.
Unlike conventional CHX products, Pertinax does not dissipate rapidly and can provide precisely measured antimicrobial efficacy over days, weeks, months or even years. Consequently, Pertinax has the potential to improve a wide range of existing CHX products, whilst also opening up a number of entirely new applications.
Pertinax was originally developed at the University of Bristol with primarily dental and oral hygiene applications in mind but over the past two years the company has validated the material in a very broad range of clinical and veterinary applications. A UK patent for the technology was granted in November 2015, and a US patent was granted in August of this year.
The company is actively seeking commercial partners in the wound care and medical device industries. Pertinax is available in kilogram quantities for development purposes, and the company plans to establish commercial cGMP production over the next 12 to 18 months.
Pertinax materials will be regulated under the EU Medicines Directive as a new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or under the EU Biocide Regulations as a biocide depending on the intended use – with the reduction of antiseptic usage an appealing plus point for regulators.