National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc is continuing its journey in the medical equipment industry by jointly developing a wound dressing to help patients recover faster from deep wounds.
The move should reduce dependence on costly imported dressing products and promises higher revenue, expected to exceed 100 million baht.
The new product is named “Inaqua”, a bio-cellulose wound dressing co-developed by PTT and state-run Phramongkutklao Hospital.
This type of wound dressing is good for diabetic patients who may have problems when treating their wounds, which may heal slowly and lead to a risk of infection and other complications.
“We worked with Phramongkutklao Hospital to develop a dressing with high moisture and faster healing properties for patients suffering from deep wounds,” said Yuttana Suwannachot, PTT’s executive vice-president overseeing the company’s Innovation Institute.
“The dressing is mainly composed of purified water and nanocellulose fibres.”
The bio-cellulose wound dressing marks PTT’s first medical product development which will pave the way for the firm to further diversify into life science and S-curve businesses.
The product has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for commercial manufacture and is certified by the Dermatology Institute.
The market value of bio-cellulose wound dressing in Thailand currently stands at 900 million baht. PTT aims to be among the top five manufacturers in this product category.
“This can help Thailand depend less on the import of bio-cellulose wound dressings and increase the country’s competitiveness in medical product manufacturing,” said Mr Yuttana.
Prices of locally made bio-cellulose wound dressings are expected to be lower than those of foreign products by around 50%, helping patients save costs during their treatment in hospital.
PTT plans to forge cooperation on more R&D projects with other institutions and business partners in the medical and healthcare industry.
The firm’s Innovation Institute is focusing on developing high value-added products, notably biomedical equipment.
PTT spends over 100 million baht per year supporting its R&D and innovation development projects.
