Roger Massengale, Eitan Medical, on Optimizing COVID-19 Treatment Delivery

Recently, Eitan Medical announced that MPP Infusion Centers®, a Joint Commission-accredited ambulatory infusion services provider, has broadened its use of Eitan Medical’s flagship Sapphire^TM infusion pump to administer COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusion treatments.

Monoclonal antibodies have been shown to provide an effective therapeutic intervention in treating specific diseases, which is why the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) of specific monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of COVID-19 earlier this year.

DocWire News spoke with Roger Massengale, Chief Commercial Officer Medication Delivery Solutions at Eitan, to speak more about this news and what it means on a macro level.

DocWire News: Can you tell us about the company, Eitan Medical, and its value proposition?

Roger Massengale: Eitan Medical develops connected, intuitive drug delivery infusion systems which are designed to improve patient quality of life in hospital and ambulatory and home care environments.

Eitan Medical’s product lines include the Sapphire infusion platform, which is a highly-accurate infusion system, and it is used in the hospital and ambulatory settings, including emergency medicine applications as well.

The Sorrel wearable drug delivery platform is also a patient-centric, on-body injector for delivery of biologic treatments. And the new Avoset is a connected infusion system for home care and oncology markets.

Talk to us about your flagship infusion pump, Sapphire, and its importance?

Eitan Medical’s flagship infusion product, which is the Sapphire, is versatile and highly accurate but is also very easy to use. It’s an infusion system that can deliver a variety of clinical therapies, including pain control, oncolytic medications, nutrition therapy, and biologics. The Sapphire’s also been widely used in emergency medicine applications, as it is one of only a few infusion devices that are approved for air and ground transport applications with an extensive drug library. It’s small, lightweight, and simple to program and has built-in safety software to assist in managing complex medication therapies.

Can you talk to us about the recent announcement that MPP infusion centers have broadened its use of your pump?

MPP infusion centers recently used the Sapphire infusion pump to deliver monoclonal antibody infusion treatments to some COVID-19 patients. They were one of the first infusion centers in the country to administer COVID-19 antibody therapies partnering with the State of Texas.

MPP also uses the Sapphire infusion pump for a number of other biologic treatments, as it provides an intuitive solution for multiple therapies, allowing their staff to efficiently oversee and treat several patients simultaneously.

Why are monoclonal antibodies so important in the treatment of various diseases, such as COVID-19?

Monoclonal antibodies are still under Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19, but have been used around the country for people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are at high risk to progress to severe illness and hospitalization and death. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the body’s immune system to fight off harmful pathogens and viruses. Patients who are interested in this treatment should really coordinate with their physician or healthcare provider before contacting the location to receive treatment. There are a number of other options though to receive these types of treatments outside the hospital, such as infusion centers and healthcare providers.

How big an impact can Eitan Medical have on the healthcare ecosystem?

The healthcare industry is currently undergoing significant changes brought on by, or highlighted during, the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals in many areas have been overrun with patients, and many patients need treatment outside the hospital. Eitan Medical’s ambulatory infusion systems have played an important role in pandemic preparedness programs across the world in this time of crisis.

Any closing thoughts?

COVID-19 has been a catalyst to accelerate the shift of care from the hospital. We believe that digitally connecting devices to provide data and treatment feedback to healthcare providers in outpatient settings is critically important for the coming shift of treatments from hospitals to alternate care settings. We are focused on continuous innovations to make connected infusion therapy easier, safer, and more flexible for patients and providers.