(By Balaseshan) Oculus Innovative Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLS) said it has received approval of Microcyn Hydrogel for treating acute and chronic wounds from regulatory authorities in China.
The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved Microcyn Hydrogel for moistening, repairing and healing of acute and chronic wounds in China.
This approval follows successful completion of randomized trials at five major Chinese hospitals for use of Microcyn Hydrogel in the treatment of acute wounds, diabetic foot care and post-surgical incisions.
This approval allows Oculus' Chinese partner, Shanghai Sunvic, to market Microcyn Hydrogel in both the over-the-counter and professional healthcare markets in China. Shanghai Sunvic intends to launch the Microcyn hydrogel in the third quarter of 2012.
In 2011, Oculus Innovative Sciences entered into an agreement with Shanghai Sunvic for the distribution of Microcyn-based products in China. The partnership allows Oculus and the Microcyn Technology to gain a foothold in China via new product launches supported by Shanghai Sunvic Technology Co.'s national sales network.
According to Journal of the American Medical Association, as is the case in much of the rest of the world, the aged proportion of China's population is increasing. The population older than 65 years included 100.4 million persons, or 7.69% of China's total population, in 2005 and is expected to increase at an annual rate of 3.28%.
With this increased aged population, total health care needs and expenditures will increase as well. China's proportion of GDP allocated to health care, currently about 5.55%, is likely to increase steadily to become closer to that of developed countries, most of which have comparable rates of 8% to 11%, up to nearly 16% in the United States.
OCLS is trading up 10.53% at $0.840 on Tuesday. The stock has been trading between $0.60 and $1.85 for the past 52 weeks.