Ivera Medical Awarded 3-Year Sole Source Agreement and ASCEND Contract With the Premier Healthcare Alliance for Curos Passive Disinfection Products

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 26, 2013) - Ivera Medical, creator of Curos® passive disinfection devices for needleless IV valves and male-luer connectors, announced today that it has been awarded a three-year, sole-source group purchasing contract with the Premier healthcare alliance, a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,900 U.S. hospitals and 100,000 other healthcare sites. Separately, Ivera was awarded a sole source ASCEND (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor) contract, to supply facilities that participate specifically in the Premier ASCEND program to control and reduce costs through simplified purchasing processes, appropriate clinical utilization and specially negotiated contracts. Effective September 1, 2013, Premier members gain access to both Ivera's Curos disinfecting port protectors and Curos Tips disinfecting device for male-luer devices at specially negotiated pricing and terms.

Curos products employ passive disinfection to disinfect intravenous devices, killing the organisms¹ that cause patient bloodstream infections² and eliminating the technique variation found in manual procedures. In one survey, fifty-six percent of nurses did not feel the need to disinfect a catheter hub prior to connection³, yet the standard for proper manual disinfection requires 15-30 seconds of vigorous scrubbing with an alcohol pad prior to valve access and device connections. However, scrub-the-hub policies, when performed, rely on individual technique, can be difficult to achieve consistently in a fast-paced acute care setting, and provide no means for compliance auditing.⁴

With two disinfecting port protector options -- Curos Strips and individual Curos -- nurses can conveniently comply with valve disinfection protocols by simply peeling the foil seal from the distinctive green cap and twisting Curos onto the top of any luer-activated IV access port or needleless valve. Inside Curos, a 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) saturated sponge-like foam bathes the surface of the venous access device to provide consistent and reliable disinfection of the port surface in 3 minutes. Once in place, Curos maintains a clean port for up to 7 days, if not removed.

Extending passive disinfection and protection to male-luer connectors, Curos Tips improve disinfection compliance with IV tubing connectors and needleless syringes by immersing the exterior of the male luer in alcohol. Curos Tips come in a convenient strip dispenser that places five disinfecting Tips in easy reach of clinician at the point of care. The cap's highly visible bright green color allows auditors to monitor caregiver disinfection practice compliance at a glance.

"Ivera is pleased and honored to deepen our collaboration with Premier members. Premier and Ivera share patient safety values by providing innovative solutions designed to address a common source of patient bloodstream infections and contaminated blood cultures and in doing so reducing overall healthcare costs," said Bob Rogers, CEO of Ivera Medical.

About Ivera Medical
Ivera Medical Corporation, a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), is focused on the design, development, manufacture, marketing and sale of products that help healthcare providers reduce facility-acquired patient infections. Curos, manufactured in Carlsbad, CA, is the first disinfecting cap to be marketed in the U.S. and has received FDA's 510(k) market clearance. For more information about Curos and Ivera Medical, visit the website at www.curos.com

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is one of the nation's largest performance improvement alliances of approximately 2,900 U.S. community hospitals and 100,000 alternate sites using the power of collaboration and technology to lead the transformation to coordinated, high-quality, cost-effective care. Owned by healthcare providers, Premier operates a leading purchasing network that provided members more than $5 billion in savings in FY2012. Premier also maintains clinical, financial and outcomes databases based on 1 in every 4 U.S. patient discharges. A world leader in measurably improving patient care, Premier has one of the largest performance improvement collaboratives in America, including one in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. https://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

References
1. Wenzel et al. The Impact of Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infections Emerging Infectious Disease • 2001 Vol 7, No 2. 174-177.
2. The effectiveness of Curos protectors were tested in vitro and was found to have > 4 log reduction against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida glabrata, and Candida albicans.
3. Hadaway, L. (2007). Intermittent intravenous administration sets: Survey of current practices. Journal of Vascular Access, 12(3), 143-147.
4. Kaler W, Chinn R. Successful disinfection of needleless access ports: a matter of time and friction. J Assoc Vasc Access. 2007;12(3):1-142.