In Profile: Alexander Van Damme, Bedale

Alexander Van Damme, Bedale, explains the expertise behind the company’s Bedalpatch dressing

MPN: Who are you and what do you do?

AVD: Bedal is a medical company that has been developing the Bedalpatch, a dressing that allows patients receiving intravenous therapy to wash safely, without disconnecting the infusion line or interference of the nursing staff.

Bedal started after one of the founders was diagnosed with cancer. David De Munter was admitted to the hospital for long periods, where he noticed how difficult taking a shower was with an infusion line. David gathered a multidisciplinary team to develop a solution for this.

Bedal started the development of this new dressing in close collaboration with the University Hospital of Leuven, a leading Belgian hospital, with a nursing team focused on catheter hygiene. This collaboration ensured a good understanding of the market needs and the clinical relevance of the product.

MPN: What projects have you been focussed on recently?

AVD: We have focused our efforts on the development of the new patch,  production startup, the set up of clinical trials and finding investors.

For the development of the patch  - determining user needs to developeing the final product was important, as well as the selection of the best materials: very different properties are needed in different elements of the product. For example the transparent dressing should be made of a breathable and transparent film, so that no condensation is built up under the patch during use, and that the patient can always see the exit site.

As well as the clininical trials that have been done in collaboration with the hospital, a larger scale trial was executed, involving more than 100 patients that use the product and report on a variety of parameters, such as the change in autonomy and time requirements of the hospital staff.

Recently Bedal also finished a capital round with external investors. The investment deal was closed with a VC and several business angels. The new shareholders are LRM (the Limburg investment company) and a consortium of business angels. The newly acquired funds will allow market development of the Bedalpatch.

MPN: Describe your latest innovation?

AVD: The Bedalpatch is a consumable dressing that allows patients with intravenous therapy to wash safely. The infusion line can stay connected during washing, excluding the need for the nursing staff to disconnect the infusion line. The Bedalpatch consists of a transparent dressing, with an integrated plastic snap part. This snap part will fit around the infusion line, and will provide a watertight seal around it. The Bedalpatch is a medical device class I, that will cover the exit site and the fixation dressing.

MPN: What does it mean for the medical sector?

AVD: This new product brings benefits to both the patient and the hospital.  First of all there is the time reduction of the nursing staff required to help patients shower. Usually an adequate shielding of the exit site has to be provided, the infusion line is disconnected, and afterwards the fixation dressings needs to be replaced. The Bedalpatch aims to avoid these time-consuming manipulations by providing a dressing that will protect the full exit site without the need for disconnecting the infusion line.

Furthermore, a higher degree of autonomy of the patient can be expected, since the patient becomes less dependant from the availability of the nursing staff to be able to shower.

Additionally, the usage of the Bedalpatch is more in line with the recommendations for infection prevention from the CDC (Centre for Disease Control), that state that the number of manipulations of the exit site should be as low as possible, that fixation dressings should remain on site for long times and that showering is allowed if adequate shielding can be provided.

The majority of patients in the hospital receive intravenous therapy, so the problem of washing with an infusion line is a very significant one.

MPN: Plans for the future?

AVD: The market launch for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg is planned for the end of 2015. Later on, we plan to expand to other European markets.

In parallel we wish to broaden our portfolio of products, so we are currently developing new products that have a strong fit with the Bedalpatch.