C. R. Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR) has had its product, Agento, approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Agento, an endotracheal tube is a breathing tube coated with a thin layer of silver for use with a ventilator. It is intended for patients that are required to use a ventilator to breathe for 24 hours or more.
The silver coating, a material known to have antimicrobial properties, reduces the risk of pneumonia while on a ventilator. Patients that require the breathing support of a ventilator are at risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). VAP occurs when bacteria builds up on the breathing tube or passes through the tube into the patients' lungs.
"Patients who require ventilator support are at increased risk for pneumonia, which poses a significant public health issue. This product can help to lower this risk," said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
While silver has long been known for it's antimicrobial properties, this is the first endotracheal tube coated with silver. In the multicenter clinical trials that compared Argento to uncoated tubes, the percentage of patients that developed pneumonia decreased by 2.7%. The studies also found the Argento delayed the onset of pneumonia.
[Source: FDA]
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