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GENEVA, Ill., Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At the invitation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Argentum Medical President and CEO Raul Brizuela addressed 1,300 attendees at BARDA Industry Day 2019 as a featured speaker. He spoke at the annual conference about how Argentum's Silverlon® antimicrobial dressings help BARDA – the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority, part of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response – prepare for mass casualty events in the United States. He elaborated on Silverlon's journey with BARDA, why Silverlon was awarded research contracts and how, ultimately, Silverlon was put into the Strategic National Stockpile.

"I am honored to have been included as a presenter at BARDA Industry Day alongside some of the most respected experts in disaster preparedness," Brizuela said.

At BARDA Industry Day every year, the agency brings together industry experts and academics to discuss the most important healthcare threats to the United States. Besides Brizuela who represented Silverlon, other speakers at the 2019 event included leaders from the FDA, HHS, Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson.

Silverlon – a family of long-acting silver-plated nylon dressings – is widely used to aid in healing acute wounds and thermal burns. Its silver plating helps kill pathogens. Silverlon products contain 50 to 100 times more metallic silver ions than other silver-impregnated dressings and have been shown to be highly effective in hostile and austere military environments.

Brizuela continued, "It's been incredibly rewarding to work with the amazing team at BARDA over the past eight years as we work to provide impactful products that are not only saving lives but are making history."

As part of HHS ASPR's mission to save lives and protect Americans from 21st-century health security threats, BARDA invests in the advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products – needed to combat health security threats. Since 2007, 52 BARDA-supported products have achieved regulatory approval, licensure or clearance. Brizuela provided an overview of the evolution of the working relationship between BARDA and Silverlon:

• BARDA first awarded Argentum Medical a $16.5 million contract in 2013 to determine the efficacy of its Silverlon silver-plated wound and burn dressing in radiological or chemical emergencies.

• In late 2018, BARDA again awarded Argentum Medical a three-year, $8.4 million contract to repurpose its commercial FDA-cleared Silverlon burn dressing technology for radiation injuries of the skin. This contract studied the potential use of its Silverlon technology for low-grade and severe skin radiation injuries after a radiation emergency.

• In July 2019, these BARDA-funded studies ultimately led to Argentum Medical's Silverlon Burn and Wound Care products receiving the first-ever 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for vapor sulfur mustard indication.

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Silverlon
Silverlon® wound dressings have a permanently plated metallic surface, which provides the antimicrobial benefits of silver in the dressing without staining the skin and without increasing bioburden. Argentum Medical originally developed Silverlon for the U.S. military, where it is still extensively employed for the management of burn and blast injuries. Visit https://www.silverlon.com.

SOURCE Silverlon