Seprafilm® Efficacy Data Presented at Surgical Meeting



Seprafilm® Efficacy Data Presented at Surgical Meeting

Date: May 11, 2004

Shown to Reduce Incidences of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction Following Colorectal Surgery

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) today announced clinical data were reported that show Seprafilm® Adhesion Barrier to be effective in reducing the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction following colorectal surgery. The data were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons in Dallas and come from a five-year study involving nearly 1,800 patients.

Seprafilm is a temporary, physical adhesion barrier for abdominal and pelvic adhesion prevention. Patients in this randomized, controlled, multi-center, international trial underwent one of several colorectal procedures, with the majority undergoing colon resection for inflammatory bowel disease. It is one of the largest clinical studies of its kind.

In the treatment group, Seprafilm was placed throughout the abdomen and pelvis with the intention to reduce the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction. The control group did not receive any anti-adhesion barrier. The incidence of bowel obstruction of any cause between the treatment and control groups did not differ. Such results were not unexpected because an obstruction can be caused by several factors, including bowel stenosis and strictures, anastomotic complications, and cancer - conditions which would be unaffected by the placement of an adhesion barrier.

However, detailed analysis indicated that Seprafilm reduced the relative risk of a first adhesive small bowel obstruction by 47 percent (1.8% vs. 3.4%, treatment vs. control, respectively, p ................
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