ZOLL, a part of Asahi Kasei, has enrolled the first patient in the SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO2) Therapy trial in patients with left anterior descending ST-elevation myocardial infarction (LAD STEMI) heart attacks.
The study is named as SuperSaturated Oxygen Comprehensive Observational Registry (SSCORE).
It aims to demonstrate the efficacy of SSO2 Therapy in lowering heart failure and mortality in patients with LAD STEMI.
The SSCORE study will also gather data on potential healthcare cost savings from preventing heart failure, compared to long-term palliative treatments.
The first patient in the trial was enrolled at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, a partner of Allina Health.
Allina’s Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation researcher and principal investigator Jay Traverse said: “SuperSaturated Oxygen Therapy has shown great promise to alleviate this problem, which improves the quality of life for the patient while relieving the financial burden on the healthcare system as a whole.”
SSO2 Therapy is a localised hyperoxemic oxygen infusion for the coronary arteries after a heart attack. It is delivered via a console, cartridge, and SSO2 catheter.
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this treatment reduces cardiac muscle damage after coronary angioplasty with stenting. The extent of this damage predicts future health issues, such as rehospitalisation and heart failure.
SSO2 Therapy is approved as an adjunct for patients with LAD STEMI who are treated with conventional stenting within six hours from the onset of chest pain.
According to ZOLL, SSO2 Therapy was found safe and efficacy in reducing infarct size, a key predictor of future outcomes, in multiple clinical trials.
ZOLL TherOx general manager Matt Rochner said: “Enrolling the first patient in the SSCORE study marks a significant milestone in advancing the use of SuperSaturated Oxygen Therapy to treat the most severe heart attacks.
“SSO2 Therapy has the potential to not only improve patient outcomes but also reduce the long-term costs of managing heart failure, a significant healthcare challenge.”
Last month, ZOLL won an auction that enables it to acquire the ventilator business of US-based Vyaire Medical following the latter’s bankruptcy filing.
