Who are the inventors of Wound-Be-Gone?
Jirí Labský, PhD. (*1936)
He has written more than 100 articles for international magazines and 55 patent applications. In 2002 he received the prestigious Cesk á hlava (Czech Brain) award together with Karel Smetana, MD. Labský made discoveries in the 1960s that led to the manufacturing of soft contact lenses. He contributed to the development of Wound-Be-Gone with his proposal to incorporate sterically hindered amines, which he called "traps for free oxygen radicals," into certain polymers. He also developed a means for bringing this idea to completion.
Jirí Vacík, PhD. (*1938)
During the 1990s, he served as head of the Department of Hydrogels for Medical and Technical Uses at the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. He ran the team developing the Wound-Be-Gone product. During his 40 plus years working at the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, he has published 58 articles and has authored 47 patent applications.
Pavel Hošek, MD (*1948)
He worked as a general practitioner. During the research process, he focused mainly on the practical testing of the gel.
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From Laboratory to Mass Production
Work on research to develop the gel sold today under the Wound-Be-Gone brand name began in the first half of the 1990s. However, the research at the time would not have been possible without earlier studies done by the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic.
Wound-Be-Gone as such owes its existence to the discovery of preparation of hydrophilic polymers based on poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate). This discovery by Professor Wichterle and his team forms the basis of the chemical premise used to create Wound-Be-Gone.
The research team made a major breakthrough in the mid-1990s when it began to realize in practice the idea of Jirí Labský, PhD. for integrating sterically hindered amines, so-called "free radical traps," into specific polymers that the human body tolerates well. Free radicals, which are created in abundance any time tissue is damaged, react with these amines or with their oxidation derivatives. The created reaction neutralizes free radicals, thus preventing their otherwise aggressive impact on the body.
The use of polymer matrices has a number of advantages. They are composed of large macromolecules which are cross-linked. This prevents the molecules from penetrating the skin and entering the body. Thus, they remain on the wound's surface. This allows the active ingredient to work in a systematic manner.
In 1997, the invention received a Czech patent, but the process for developing a widely-accessible product was far from over. Transferring laboratory-proven results into a format that could work in large-scale production was very difficult. The research team had to find answers to a number of questions pertaining to optimization of the chemical structure. The range of problems that needed to be overcome brought with it a need to find a balance between the product's effectiveness and its cost, i.e., achieve a manufacturing cost that would allow for viable mass production.
The Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is the patent-holder. The Institute has granted rights for manufacturing the product (sold under the registered trademark, Wound-Be-Gone) to Wake Pharm US, Inc. based on an exclusive contract. Wake Pharma Ltd. and Wake Pharm US, Inc. have exclusive sales and marketing rights for the product.
The Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry
The product for healing infected wounds, today sold under the brand name, Wound-Be-Gone, was developed by the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. This top scientific research centre has now devoted its activities to science and research for over half a century. It is home to research that led to one of the most important inventions of all time - contact lenses.
The history of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry began in the 1950s.
A successful scientific symposium on macromolecules hosted in 1957 in Prague provided the impulse for the establishment of a specialized institute devoted to this fast-growing scientific field.
The Institute was founded in 1959 as part of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Its first director was Professor Otto Wichterle, a man whose name is forever tied to the discovery of soft contact and intraocular lenses.
Under the support of Professor Wichterle, the Institute focused its studies to equal degrees on polymer chemistry and physics. Emphasis was placed on a balance between theoretical research and the practical use of research results. The fact that Prague is the only city in the world to have hosted the International Symposium on Macromolecules (IUPAC) three times (in 1957, 1965 and 1992) attests to the truly exceptional status of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry.
The Institute's scientific and research activities still continue today. As of January 1, 2007 it bears the legal status of a public research institute. In recent years, the Institute has devoted its work to three key areas: research on bio-macromolecular systems, research on dynamics and molecular and supra-molecular polymer self-organization, and research on the issue of preparation, characterization, and uses for new polymers with manageable structures and features. The Institute also places great emphasis on educational activities.
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