Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jeffery, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon, to help guide the strategy for the development of the Group’s technology in humans for military application

Melbourne, Australia – 20 August 2018 – Medical Ethics Pty Ltd (“Medical Ethics” or “the Group”), a commercial and development company focused on pain mitigation in wounds for humans and animals, announces the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jeffery, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham to its Advisory Board. Together with the existing members of the Advisory Board, Steven will provide expert analysis of the Group’s research and development plans and help in developing strategies for its unique technology platform. In particular, Steven’s extensive experience in the British Army and as a burns and plastic surgeon will be utilised to investigate the potential of the Group’s technology in humans for the immediate treatment of wounds in military and civilian field environments.

Steven joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a medical student in 1986. He qualified from the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester in 1989, and served as a Medical Officer with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders before completing his basic surgical training, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and of Glasgow. He completed three operational tours of duty in Northern Ireland during this time.

Pursuing his interest in burns and other soft tissue injuries, Steven completed his plastic surgical training in East Grinstead, Newcastle and Perth, Western Australia before his first consultant job in Newcastle in 2003. In 2007, Steven moved to Selly Oak Hospital (now the Queen Elizabeth Hospital) in Birmingham, the UK’s primary receiving hospital for service personnel injured on operations, to be the first military plastic surgeon in the city, as well as to be part of the burns team. He also completed four tours of Afghanistan during this time.

In recognition of his contribution to developing the military plastic surgery medical and nursing teams, Steven was awarded the Military Civilian Partnership Award for ‘Regular of the Year’ in 2011, as well as receiving the Wounds UK ‘Key Contribution’ award and the Smith and Nephew ‘Customer Pioneer of the Year’ award the same year.

Steven is a Patron of the Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust Charity, and has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England ad eundem. He is an expert adviser to NICE Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme. In 2011, he co-founded the Woundcare 4 Heroes charity, which is already making a big difference to the wound care of both serving and veteran personnel.

Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jeffery, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, commented: 

“Pain is a real problem for my patients. Currently, there is nothing available for the topical treatment of injured military personnel. Medical Ethics’ unique combination technology has the potential to reduce the pain, as well as the risk of infection, of wounds in the field environment. I believe this technology is particularly suited for use on the battlefield, with the potential for the product to be easily carried and used by individual soldiers. I also believe it has the potential to lift soldier’s morale to know there is a product available to quickly reduce pain should they be injured. I am therefore pleased to be part of this Advisory Board and I look forward to working with Medical Ethics to develop its technology for military application.”

Allan Giffard, Managing Director of Medical Ethics, added:

“We are excited to announce the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jeffery to our established Advisory Board of recognised key opinion leaders in both human and animal health. Steven’s extensive insight and experience in the military and wound care settings will be invaluable as we continue the development of our technology in humans.”

Please see a link to a video of Steven discussing the potential of the Group’s technology for military application here.

The Group’s Advisory Board was set up in March 2017 to provide expert analysis of the Group’s research and development plans and to help in developing strategies for its unique technology platform in humans and animals. Existing members of the Advisory Board include:

• Ian Page, Chief Executive Officer of Dechra Pharmaceuticals, an international specialist veterinary pharmaceutical company
• Dr Chris Roberts, Owner and Principal Consultant at Clinical Resolutions, a wound care consultancy
• Dr Matthew Bayfield, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Strathfield Private Hospital and VMO Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
• Professor Peter Windsor, a registered specialist veterinary surgeon in New South Wales and an emeritus Professor at Sydney University
• Dr Julian Braidwood, Founder and Managing Director of Triveritas, which provides comprehensive product development, clinical study and regulatory affairs services to the animal health industry globally

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Second country launch for Tri-Solfen^®, which is already marketed by Bayer in Australia

An important milestone as the Group continues to expand its international reach and to help minimise suffering associated with wounds

Melbourne, Australia

Medical Ethics Pty Ltd (“Medical Ethics” or “the Group”), a commercial and development company focused on pain mitigation in wounds for humans and animals, announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Animal Ethics Pty Ltd (Animal Ethics), has signed a long-term, exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with Bayer New Zealand for the Group’s lead product, Tri-Solfen^®, in New Zealand for use on animals undergoing painful husbandry procedures.

Tri-Solfen® is designed to adhere to wounds to provide rapid onset numbing with prolonged analgesia effects. The innovative spray and stay topical local anaesthetic and antiseptic gel also contains active ingredients designed to minimise bleeding, protect against infection, coat the wound and promote healing.

The Group successfully registered Tri-Solfen^®in New Zealand through the Ministry for Primary Industries, which leads and facilitates the management of animal welfare policy and practice in the country. Tri-Solfen^®is initially indicated for use on lambs and calves undergoing husbandry procedures. Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer has the right to market the existing and future indications for all animal species (excluding humans). The Group will be responsible for applying for additional registrations.

Derek Bartlett, Managing Director of Bayer New Zealand, commented:  

“At Bayer, we are firmly committed to improving animal wellbeing, especially alleviating the pain and stress of animal husbandry procedures in farm animals. This product goes a long way to achieving that result. Tri-Solfen^® is initially indicated for use on lambs and calves, but we are working with Animal Ethics on approvals for further indications and claims. Innovations such as Tri-Solfen^® are important for enhancing animal welfare.  We are currently working towards launching to the New Zealand market in early 2019.”

 Allan Giffard, Managing Director of Medical Ethics, added: 

“We are delighted to announce Bayer as our partner in New Zealand to bring our globally recognised technology to this important country. Bayer’s commitment to improving animal welfare make them the ideal partner in New Zealand and, having already demonstrated the success of our relationship in Australia, we are confident we can continue to help minimise suffering associated with wounds in livestock. Tri-Solfen^® is proven to deliver a highly effective, practical and cost-efficient solution to improve animal welfare outcomes and we look forward to continuing to expand the commercial potential of the product.”

Over one billion livestock globally undergo highly invasive painful husbandry procedures annually. Tri-Solfen^® is already registered in Australia for sheep and cattle husbandry procedures, where it has been marketed and distributed by Bayer since its launch in 2005. To date, Tri-Solfen^® has been used to successfully treat over 80 million animals undergoing routine surgeries in the Australian livestock industries. The global market potential for Tri-Solfen^® is estimated to be in excess of AUD $350 million per year for the treatment of routine on farm procedures in calves, lambs and piglets.

Animal Ethics accelerated the expansion of its global registration programmes in 2017 through a commercial partnership with Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (Dechra), a FTSE 250 international veterinary pharmaceutical business. As part of the partnership, Dechra became a cornerstone investor in Medical Ethics and, in a separate agreement with Animal Ethics, secured the global licensing rights (excluding Australia and New Zealand) for the Group’s proprietary platform technology in animals. Dechra will support the Group’s strategy to register Tri-Solfen^® in major international markets.  As such, the Group submitted a regulatory dossier to the European Medicines Agency in June 2018 to register Tri-Solfen^®in Europe for painful husbandry procedures in piglets and dairy calves.

 

Contacts:

Medical Ethics Pty Ltd

Tel: +61 419 362 286

Allan Giffard, Managing Director

Charles Olsson, Marketing Director

FTI Consulting

Tel: +44 20 3727 1000

Brett Pollard, Victoria Foster Mitchell, Abbas Omaar

Patented pain relief product for animal husbandry procedures is marketed by Bayer in Australia

Expands Tri-Solfen’s^® commercial potential

Dossier submitted to the EMA for registration of Tri-Solfen^® in Europe

 

Melbourne, Australia – 9 July 2018 – Medical Ethics Pty Ltd (“Medical Ethics” or “the Group”), a commercial research and development company focused on pain mitigation in wounds for humans and animals, announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Animal Ethics Pty Ltd (Animal Ethics), has successfully received approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to extend the use of Tri-Solfen® in Australia to include pain relief for beef and dairy calves.

Anthony (Bim) Struss, President of AgForce Cattle Board, Councillor of the Cattle Council Australia and Member of the Queensland Animal Welfare Advisory Board, commented:
“We have seen widespread use of Tri-Solfen^® across the beef cattle industry since the initial registration of the product in cattle in 2014 and we welcome this extended use. Farmers are increasingly seeking a way to improve welfare standards and Tri-Solfen^® provides a safe and effective way to reduce pain and improve wound healing more broadly across livestock.”   

Kathryn Davis, Program Leader, Animal Health & Fertility at Dairy Australia, commented:
“This is great news for dairy calf welfare. It is now easy for farmers to provide cheap and effective pain relief on site for calves following husbandry procedures.”

Tri-Solfen® is an innovative spray and stay topical local anaesthetic and antiseptic gel that is designed to adhere to wounds to provide rapid onset numbing with prolonged analgesia effects. It also contains active ingredients designed to minimise bleeding, protect against infection, coat the wound and promote healing.

Tri-Solfen® was approved in lambs in 2004, becoming the first topical local anaesthetic pain relief product specifically developed and approved for on-farm use to address husbandry-related pain in infant livestock. Since then, the product has been approved for use in beef calves, and has been widely adopted by Australian farmers in what has become a revolution in farm animal welfare, with over eight million lambs and one million calves treated with the pain relief product each year.

With over one billion livestock animals globally undergoing highly invasive painful husbandry procedures annually, and a critical shortage of products available for on-farm pain alleviation, Animal Ethics is continuing its drive to deliver solutions by pursuing extensions of use for different species, for an increasing range of wound applications, as well as expanding to international markets.  The process for securing a European registration for Tri-Solfen® through the Group’s partner, Dechra Veterinary Products, an international specialist veterinary pharmaceutical company, began last month with a dossier being submitted to the European Medicines Agency for painful husbandry procedures in piglets and dairy calves to be treated with the proven technology.

Tri-Solfen® is already registered in Australia separately for pain alleviation in sheep and cattle husbandry procedures, where it is marketed and distributed by Bayer Animal Health, a global leader in animal health. To date, Tri-Solfen® has been used to successfully treat over 80 million animals undergoing routine surgeries in the Australian livestock industries.

Allan Giffard, Managing Director of Medical Ethics, added:
“Animal Ethics is proud to be part of the global movement to address animal pain. Not only does Tri-Solfen® deliver improved welfare, but farmers report, that they also notice the big impact on productivity. Tri-Solfen® is proven to deliver a highly effective, practical and cost-efficient solution to improve animal welfare outcomes. This label extension is another important step for Medical Ethics as we continue to build the value of the brand by expanding the indications for which our products are used and our international reach. We are continuing to make good progress towards the registration of Tri-Solfen® in Europe with our partner, Dechra Veterinary Products. We are also committed to investing for long term sustainable growth and further develop our recognised technology in humans. I look forward to providing an update on this in due course.”

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Contacts:
Medical Ethics Pty Ltd
Allan Giffard, Managing Director
Charles Olsson, Marketing Director
Tel:  +61 419 362 286

FTI Consulting
Brett Pollard / Victoria Foster Mitchell
Tel: +44 20 3727 1000

 

Notes for editors:
About Medical Ethics Pty Ltd
Medical Ethics Pty Ltd is a commercial research and development company focused on pain mitigation in wounds for humans and animals. Our vision is to develop and deliver our highly effective, safe, affordable and practical pain relief products to prevent pain and minimise suffering associated with wounds in humans, livestock and companion animals. Medical Ethics is focused on the development of the Group’s patented technology initially for the treatment of chronic wounds such as diabetic leg ulcers. Animal Ethics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medical Ethics, is the first, and currently the only, company globally to develop, launch and commercialise a topical pain and wound management product for use in livestock undergoing painful husbandry procedures.

In March 2017, Medical Ethics secured investment from Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (Dechra) in exchange for a 33% shareholding in the Group. A separate global license agreement (excluding Australia and NZ) was entered into by Dechra and Animal Ethics to secure the marketing and distribution rights of the Group’s proprietary platform technology in animals.

About Tri-Solfen
Tri-Solfen® is a local anaesthetic and antiseptic gel spray that adheres well to wounds and acts to immediately numb the wound with long lasting analgesic effect. It also acts as a barrier to environmental stimuli, promotes haemostasis and improves wound healing. Tri-Solfen® contains two proven topical local anaesthetics; fast-acting Lignocaine for immediate pain relief and long-acting Bupivacaine for prolonged post-operative pain relief. Adrenaline is included for its ability to reduce the shock and stress of blood loss, whilst prolonging the anaesthetic action. Tri-Solfen® also contains Cetrimide; an antiseptic widely used to cleanse skin and wounds and provides protection from bacterial contamination.

The global market potential for Tri-Solfen® is estimated to be in excess of AUD $350 million per year for the treatment of routine on farm procedures in calves, lambs and piglets.

 

Melbourne-based life science research and development company Medical Ethics has announced a direct investment of over £3 million in Wales over the next three years, making Cardiff its new base in the northern hemisphere.

Medical Ethics develop products that alleviate pain and minimise suffering associated with wounds and surgical procedures in animals. As a UK hub for life sciences expertise, Wales will provide the company with the ideal base to progress the development of its technology for humans.

Medical Ethics chose to invest in the UK for its expertise in a number of fields required for the commercialisation of the company’s technology. This includes regulatory affairs, manufacturing and clinical studies, tax subsidies and patent box incentives.

Currently Medical Ethics engages 18 independent service providers and consultants across the UK and has plans to expand its headcount. The company will also look to use other UK consultants and service providers as it addresses future regulatory and commercialisation requirements.

Medical Ethics has worked with the Department for International Trade (DIT) for two years, receiving advice, grant application assistance and introductions to key UK stakeholders including the Wales Wound Institute in Cardiff and Cardiff University, both of which the company now collaborates with. Without DIT’s support, the company would not have been able to identify these connections and would not have chosen the UK as a location for investment.

Allan Giffard, Managing Director, Medical Ethics said:
“For us, Wales was the obvious choice in the UK, especially given our sector – Life Sciences. Wales offers the skills, expertise and infrastructure for our business to thrive.

“Through DIT, we’ve been able to participate in the Global Entrepreneur Programme, enabling us to overcome a number of initial challenges. DIT, along with Innovate UK, also supported us with introductions to key experts including the Wales Wound Institute in Cardiff – an introduction which had a significant impact on our decision to choose the UK.

“When looking to expand internationally, we initially looked at a number of countries. However, we believe it would have been a more difficult process in these territories as we did not identify programmes that provide the same level of support we’ve been offered in the UK.”

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

“This announcement is testament to the strong appetite worldwide for investing in the UK, and is a real vote of confidence in Wales’ growing stature as a hotbed of life sciences expertise.

“It also showcases the commitment of the UK Government’s globally based network of trade experts to connect international investors with the right partners for their needs.

“Companies like Medical Ethics are helping to change health dynamics on a global scale and are quickly discovering that Wales is the go-to place to develop, manufacture and commercialise theirinnovations. The UK Government knows this and we have every intention of nurturing this industry for continued success in Wales and across the UK for years to come.”

Graham Stuart, Minister for Investment, Department for International Trade said:
“With a world-class network of universities, clinicians and industry professionals, Wales has a proven capacity in providing the expertise required by both domestic and international life science companies.

“It is now at the forefront of numerous pioneering developments across a wide variety of fields, from microbiology to pharmaceuticals. Medical Ethics’ investment in Wales is an affirmative nod to this and, as an international economic department, DIT is thrilled to have provided support.”

In the year 2016-17, DIT reported 85 investment projects in Wales, generating 2,581 jobs. Welsh companies exported more than £16.4bn of goods in 2017. The UK is the number one destination for health and life sciences Foreign Direct Investment in Europe.

Further information
• Contact the DIT Media and Digital Team on 020 7008 3333
• Follow us: @tradegovuk | gov.uk/dit
• Contact the Medical Ethics UK media team on 020 3727 1000.