Steriwave Standard of Care in 2nd Health Authority
25 June 2025
ONDINE BIOMEDICAL INC.
("Ondine Biomedical", "Ondine" or the "Company")
Steriwave Standard of Care in 2nd Health Authority
British Columbia's Interior Health is Second Provincial Health Authority in Canada to Standardize Steriwave® for All Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Surgeries
Ondine Biomedical Inc. (AIM: OBI) announces that, with the implementation at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, British Columbia's Interior Health Authority (IHA) has completed the rollout of Steriwave® nasal decolonization therapy for all total hip and knee replacement surgeries. With this implementation, IHA becomes the second provincial health authority in Canada to adopt Steriwave as standard of care for these procedures.
Steriwave is now in use at 17 hospitals across all five health authorities in British Columbia (BC), which collectively serve most of the province's 5.7 million residents. Steriwave is also standard of care in six of Canada's top ten largest hospitals and in several UK private sector and NHS trust hospitals.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) was the first Canadian Health Authority to adopt Steriwave as standard of care for major surgeries. The movement toward standardized use of Steriwave began at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and University of British Columbia (UBC) Hospitals. Under the leadership of Drs. Elizabeth Bryce, Titus Wong, Diane Roscoe, and Bas Masri, these institutions became the first in the world to implement universal pre-surgical nasal photodisinfection for major surgeries. Their work demonstrated sustained infection rate reductions exceeding 50% over more than a decade without generating antimicrobial resistance. The VGH/UBC team was recognized with several awards including the 2013 International Consortium for Prevention and Infection Control Innovation Excellence Award in Geneva, becoming the first Canadians to receive this global award.
Subsequent data from VGH's spine team, led by Dr. John Street, showed that the use of Steriwave in spine surgery patients reduced post-surgical infection rates by 66.5% and delivered nearly CA$2,600 in cost savings per patient amounting to CA$2.5 million in annual savings for the hospital's spine program.[[1]]
These VCH results laid the groundwork for broader adoption across BC and abroad, including Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust in the UK, which reported a 71% surgical site infection (SSI) reduction for hips and knees and recently won the President's Award at the 2025 IPA World Congress (Shanghai) and has been shortlisted for the prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Awards for these results.
Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine, said:
"We are proud to support Interior Health's commitment to patient safety as antibiotic resistance continues to rise. Special thanks go to Nancy Thomas, Clinical Lead for IH Surgical Services and Jennifer Wright as Project Lead, for her leadership in making this region-wide implementation possible. We would also like to thank the following: Dr. Andrian Kurz, Orthopedic Surgeon and Dr. Amir Hadzic, Infection Prevention and Control Medical Lead both at Kelowna General Hospital, Dr. Tim Bell Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Penticton Regional Hospital, Dr. Jon Bourget-Murray Orthopedic Surgeon and Nicole Walby Clinical Operations Manager both at Royal Inland Hospital Kamloops, and Hannah Rempel, Manager of Surgical Daycare at Vernon Jubilee Hospital for their passionate leadership at local level. Particular recognition and thanks go to Dr. Michel Hjelkrem, tenured orthopedic surgeon and former head of the Orthopedic Department at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, for his personal efforts to secure the first Interior Health deployment of Steriwave in 2019."
Steriwave is a five-minute, light-activated antimicrobial therapy that destroys pathogens in the nasal cavity without fostering resistance or relying on patient compliance. The treatment involves applying the proprietary Steriwave photosensitive agent to each nostril followed by illumination with a specific wavelength of red light. Unlike antibiotics, it is immediately effective against bacteria, viruses, and fungi, making it a powerful tool in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.
SSIs following major surgeries carry serious and often devastating consequences for patients, with approximately 3% excess mortality [[2]], extended hospital stays of nearly 10 days [[3]], and up to 63 hours of added staff time per case, based on internal modelling estimates. A comprehensive Alberta study published in 2018 found that complex SSIs following hip and knee surgeries cost hospitals up to CA$95,000 per case and carry serious risks for patients.[[4]] Interior Health's adoption of Steriwave strengthens its infection prevention strategy and aligns with BC's 2025 healthcare goals for safety, equity and sustainability.
Enquiries:
|
Ondine Biomedical Inc. |
www.ondinebio.com |
|
Carolyn Cross, CEO |
+1 604 669 0555 |
|
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated & Financial Adviser) |
|
|
James Harris, Richard Johnson |
+44 (0)20 7409 3494 |
|
|
|
|
RBC Capital Markets (Broker) |
|
|
Kathryn Deegan |
+44 (0)20 7653 4000 |
|
|
|
|
Vane Percy & Roberts (Media Contact) |
|
|
Simon Vane Percy |
+44 (0)77 1000 5910 |
About Ondine Biomedical Inc.
Ondine Biomedical Inc. is a Canadian life sciences company and leader in light-activated antimicrobial therapies ('photodisinfection') for the prevention and treatment of infections, including those caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. Ondine has a pipeline of investigational products, based on its proprietary photodisinfection technology, in various stages of development.
Ondine's nasal photodisinfection system has a CE mark in Europe and is approved in Canada, Australia, Mexico and several other countries under the name Steriwave®. In the US, it has been granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation and Fast Track status by the FDA and is currently undergoing clinical trials for regulatory approval. Products beyond nasal photodisinfection include therapies for a variety of medical indications such as chronic sinusitis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, burns and other indications.
[[1]] Moskven E, et al. Effectiveness of prophylactic intranasal photodynamic disinfection therapy and chlorhexidine gluconate body wipes for surgical site infection prophylaxis in adult spine surgery. Can J Surg, 2023;66(6): E550-E560. (link)
[[2]] Umscheid CA, et al. Estimating the proportion of healthcare-associated infections that are reasonably preventable and the related mortality and costs. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2011;32(2):101-114. (link)
[[3]] Anderson DJ, et al. Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2014 Update. Infect. Control. Hosp. Epidemiol. 2014;35:605-627. (link)
[[4]] Rennert-May ED, Conly J, Smith S, et al. The cost of managing complex surgical site infections following primary hip and knee arthroplasty: A population-based cohort study in Alberta, Canada. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018;39(10):1183-1188. (link)
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
Latest directors dealings
- 1 day ago Savannah Energy
- 1 day ago Buccaneer Energy PLC
- 1 day ago Savannah Energy
- 1 day ago Carclo
- 1 day ago Schroder Japan Growth Fund