PRINCETON, N.J. — Derma Sciences Inc. next year plans to begin shipping MediHoney Hydrogel Wound and Burn Dressing with Leptospermum honey (manuka honey).

The company said this week that it has received Food and Drug Administration approval for the MediHoney Hydrogel wound and burn care product, which will be offered in prescription and over-the-counter formulas for the treatment of first- and second-degree burns as well as various chronic and acute wounds.

Plans call for MediHoney Hydrogel to be sold in several sizes and configurations, including dressings with and without an adhesive border, and to start shipping in early 2012, with a full commercial launch in the spring.

"This proprietary dressing, our fifth line extension in our rapidly growing MediHoney franchise, combines the proven healing properties of manuka honey with hydrogels that provide and maintain a moist wound environment to help clean and debride necrotic tissue," stated Edward Quilty, president and chief executive officer of Derma Sciences. "Importantly, this dressing does not adhere to the wound bed and, as such, will not disturb the wound bed during dressing changes. MediHoney Hydrogel dressing will be the first in the line that is directed to the treatment of burns, an enormous therapeutic area, expanding our advanced wound care addressable market.”

Last year, there were 450,000 burn injuries that received medical attention in the United States, according to an American Burn Association National Burn Repository report cited by Derma Science. Most of the burns were first-degree (damage only to the outer layer of skin) and second-degree (damage to the outer layer and the layer underneath). The leading cause of burns was direct flame, with scalding the second leading cause.

"We designed this dressing with an eye toward the OTC market, and we will be discussing it with our OTC partners through our first aid products division," Quilty added. "Most burns in the U.S. are first-degree and occur in the home. We believe our MediHoney Hydrogel dressings can be ideally suited for the management of these burns. Second, while the burn market in the U.S. is significant, 90% of all burns occur outside the U.S. We believe this product could provide meaningful upside in our international sales."