Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Gasgon (Development of a Novel Medical Device to Remove Air Bubbles from Medicines, Which Will Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Costs of IV Infusion)
Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2020-06-30
Gasgon Medical has undertaken commercial and technical feasibility activities to determine the practical applications for its proprietary technology in the healthcare marketplace. Air bubbles are a known complication of Intravenous (IV) infusion, where drugs are delivered directly into the vein. Fluid management is cumbersome and inefficient, it has been found that healthcare costs spiral as a result of repetitive manual actions and reactive measures to deal with potential risks posed by bubbles. Through collaboration with clinicians and hospitals across Europe, we have identified Paediatrics, Cardiology, Intensive and Oncology as key areas that would benefit from our technology. In particular, occupational exposure to hazardous drugs during IV infusion of chemotherapy has been identified as a leading challenge for healthcare providers that can be readily resolved with our technology.
Gasgon Medical has positioned its initial market entry with a focus on Oncology and hazardous drug IV infusion. Nurses working on the frontline may be exposed to repeated micro doses of toxic vapours while aspirating problem bubbles from IV sets. The latest update to the European Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD3) policy directs that devices are used to protect health of staff. The opportunity to improve healthcare outcomes for both the patient and care provider is significant. A business plan has been developed, with key clinical and technical partnerships created that will enable Gasgon Medical to rapidly pursue the commercial potential of its technology. Additional IP has been developed and scale up actions including team growth have been undertaken.
The key development has come from engaging customers and end-users who helped identify a pressing need with a higher value use case for our technology. By pivoting into hazardous drug segment Gasgon Medical can capture a much higher value per device based on an improved return-of-investment for hospital customers. With over 1 million hazardous drug infusions given daily, the impact of our device can be significant, both in improving healthcare outcomes and the economic benefits. Our device supports wider policy updates that aim to improve workplace protection for healthcare workers. Gasgon Medical can help the European Commission to achieve one of its key goals and scale globally to help other healthcare systems to achieve the desired standard in hazardous drug infusion safety.