Delivering surgical precision Molnlyke Healthcare

DELIVERING SURGICAL PRECISION

Molnlyke Healthcare is a world leading provider of single-use surgical and wound care products. Philip Yorke reports on a company that continues to create innovative healthcare products and is seeing strong growth worldwide.

Molnlycke was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1849 as a textile manufacturer. Today the company specialises in the development of innovative wound care and surgical products. Applications range from prevention of infection to acute care and home-care. The company is present in 33 countries worldwide and is active in more than 100. In addition Molnlycke operates its own state-of-the-art facilities with 14 production sites of which two are in the US, six in Asia and the remainder is spread throughout Europe.

As a healthcare pioneer it was in the 1940s that Molnlycke decided to focus on developing advanced wound-care products and has been responsible for many revolutionary healthcare products. These include innovative wound dressings, surgical drape materials and a soft silicon based wound dressing adhesive. More recently the company introduced ProcedurePak, a hospital efficiency product and today can generate significant savings for hospitals, both in terms of time and money.

Thanks to regular investments in new plant and technology and a steady pipeline of new, innovative products, the company has seen steady growth from the outset and this has been enhanced by a string of strategic acquisitions. Some recent milestones include the company’s acquisition by Apax Partners in 2005, which subsequently merged with Regent Medical and Medkock medical – specialists in single-use surgical products. This followed Molnlycke’s own acquisition of Johnson & Johnson’s single-use surgical product line.

Investor AB, which was founded by the Wallenberg family, took over Apax in 2007 and has since owned Molnlycke Health Care. In 2011 the company began the construction of a new purpose-built manufacturing facility at Brunswick Landing in Main, USA and in 2014 announced its plans to expand its other US production site at Wiscasett, Main. A company spokesman said, “Recently we announced that we will be opening a new site in 2017 in the Czech Republic for our ‘Procedure Pak range, as this is going to play a key role in our business activities moving forward. Most of the business for this product is in the European Market.”

Minimising risk

Reducing pain, shortening healing times and minimising the risk of maceration are standard benefits of Molnlycke’s advanced Mepilex® XT dressing. This soft, comfortable foam dressing is designed to beat a wide range of exuding acute and chronic wounds in al healing stages, including leg and foot ulcers and traumatic wounds. Using unique, integrated exudate channels, Mepilex XT is changing what foam dressings can do. Mepiex XT absorbs more fluid than any other foam dressing and absorbs both low and high-viscosity fluid, whilst at the same time minimising the risk of maceration.

Clinicians have confirmed that high-viscosity exudate is associated with sloughy wounds, which are distressing for patients and can be difficult to manage. Until now, foams have not been able to handle this type of exudate, thus making the comfort and conveni-

ence of these dressings unavailable to many of those people that need it the most.

Mepilx XT is designed to handle the full range of wounds in all their exuding healing stages. Mepic XT with Safetac offers greater comfort and less pain for the patient during dressing changes. It is now possible to extend good patient care at every stage of the wound-healing journey.

Cutting procedure prep-time

Preparation time for surgical procedures can now be cut in half thanks to Molnlycke’s unique ‘ProcedurePak’ customised procedure trays. These special trays are assembled to contain all the single-use components required for any particular type of surgical intervention.

These packs replace a large number of individually prepared packaged items. ProcedurePak trays can generate significant savings in time and costs for both major and minor surgery procedures. Consequently, preparation time for surgical procedures can be cut by more than half compared to traditional preparation of the operating room.

Molnlycke carries a selection of more than 5000 components and packaging items from leading suppliers, making it simple to tailor trays to suit individual requirements. In addition all the company’s components and packaging products conform to the strictest standards to ensure patient and staff safety.

Advanced wound technology

Molnlycke has developed a NPWT (New Patient Wound Treatment)system that has been designed to minimise unnecessary patient suffering. The ‘Advance® NWPT system with Safetac® not only minimises pain and stress for the patient but also prevents ‘skin stripping’ when dressings are changes, as well as maceration that can delay healing by causing damage to the peri-wound area.

These advanced dressings are easy to work with and apply or reposition as needed. ‘Advance® is also lightweight and easy to understand and operate, and a very quiet design that contributes to a less stressful NWPT experience on a day-to-day basis.

It also offers convenience because one system can be used for all wound types, either in hospital or at home. The Advance® system now comes with a highly flexible view-pad for easier dressing application. n

For further details of Molnlycke innovative wound dressing products and services visit: www.molnlycke.com

Building a partnership with Mölnlycke Health Care

“SGL has delivered excellent solutions for MHC since 2007. Through our global network and best-in-class partners, dedicated teams at all MHC locations and with the commitment of our top management, SGL has been able to partner with MHC to build and operate a world class supply chain. In an ever-changing business environment adding new markets, SGL is playing a very important role in ensuring that MHC can keep ahead of the competition and develop a world class service to its global portfolio of customers.

“SGL has a dedicated global team in place to work with MHC to continuously improve services and reduce costs and we are proud to be partnering with MHC in order to further grow their market share and develop new and efficient supply chain solutions for their sea- and airfreight needs,” says Kim Fisher, VP, Business Development Corporate Sales at Scan Global Logistics.