Masters Speciality Pharma Announces Launch of Neuropad® in Brazil for Detection of Diabetic Foot Syndrome
Elstree, 30 October 2019 – Masters Speciality Pharma (“Masters”), a UK-headquartered pharmaceutical company specialising in the global distribution of high-quality, life-changing medicines, today announces the recent launch in Brazil of Neuropad®, a rapid and reliable screening test for diabetic foot syndrome.
Diabetes is growing at an alarming rate worldwide. In Brazil over 12.4 million adults have diabetes, which accounts for 6% of the entire population of Brazil and 3% of the global diabetic population[1]. Diabetic foot syndrome arises from peripheral neuropathy in the foot as a result of diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy may affect up to half of diabetic patients and can lead to foot ulceration and, in severe cases, amputation. Early identification of the condition is crucial for effective treatment but due to the nerve damage the condition can be difficult to detect.
Commenting on the launch, Dr Zulf Masters OBE, founder and CEO of Masters Speciality Pharma, said: “Foot ulceration is currently the leading cause of hospitalisation among people with diabetes. Reliable, early detection and continuous monitoring is the key to avoiding serious complications and the resulting human and economic consequences of treatment failure. Neuropad provides a simple, cost effective solution to patients in Brazil, and is a further example of Masters’ established capability of providing innovative, life-improving medicines to patients in under-served markets.”
Neuropad was developed by the German company, TRIGOcare International GmbH. Neuropad works by rapidly detecting the level of moisture in the feet. Reduced moisture from the sweat glands is associated with sub-motor dysfunction, an early sign of peripheral diabetic neuropathy. Neuropad is a unique, patented, adhesive pad impregnated with anhydrous cobalt II chloride that is applied to the sole of each foot and indicates adequate sweat production by means of a blue (dry) to pink (moist) colour change. It is non-invasive, painless and can be administered at-home or in-clinic providing a result in 10-15 minutes. The clinical efficacy of this simple screening test has been determined in >40 clinical studies involving >3000 diabetic patients, and multivariate statistical analysis has shown that diabetic patients with an abnormal Neuropad result were 16 times more likely to develop foot ulceration compared with those having a normal result.
Masters has a long track record of supplying medicines in Brazil, where it currently has an exclusive License and Distribution agreement for Siklos® for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease.
The Masters team launched Neuropad at the Brazilian Congress of Diabetes held from the 16th – 18th October 2019 in Natal, Brazil.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html
