New Product
Innovation Leadership
Award
The Advanced Wound Care
Industry
EUROPE
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Background and Company Performance
Industry Challenges
The European wound care market is in a steady growth stage. It is primarily driven by an
increasingly aging population, as well as rising rates of diabetes and obesity. These
chronic health problems lead to diabetic ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and major surgeries
requiring advanced wound treatment products, thereby driving the growth of the wound
care market. There are currently many wound treatment therapies available in the
market, which include - but are not restricted to - ultrasound, shock therapy, and
hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, Frost & Sullivan notes that specific limitations of
these treatment methods include slow healing rates, infection at the wound site, and
potential pain. Lack of oxygen (hypoxia) is one of the main reasons for increased wound
healing time.
Additionally, these treatment options are quite expensive and can take a long time to
carry through. Therefore, Frost & Sullivan feels that an innovative wound treatment
product is required, one that is not only cost-effective, but also overcomes hypoxia,
resulting in faster healing. Such treatments are likely to display promising potential in this
market; Frost & Sullivan firmly believes that the company that truly offers such solutions
is best positioned to effectively address the aforementioned market challenges and stay
quite competitive in the market.
Visionary Innovation and Product Excellence of Inotec AMD
Product Matched to Market Needs
One of the vital factors that determine the healing of wounds is the availability of oxygen
at the site of repair. Hypoxia is one of the main reasons for increased time required for
wound healing, as the damaged skin or the preexisting illness, such as diabetes, prevents
sufficient oxygen from reaching the wound. It is estimated that, in Germany alone, around
4 million wounds per year stagnate in the process of healing - despite being treated
according to gold standards for therapy.
In line with this objective, Inotec AMD Ltd developed the NATROX™ device. NATROX™
works by supplying high concentrations of pure oxygen to the skin and wound bed under
the dressing. This device creates an oxygen-enriched atmosphere at the wound area in
order to accelerate the wound healing process.
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Product Design
NATROX™ is made up of two systems; The NATROX™ Oxygen Generator system extracts
oxygen from the surrounding air, while the NATROX™ Oxygen Delivery System delivers
this extracted oxygen through a flexible tube to the wounded area. The oxygen-rich
environment makes oxygen easily available for the cells in the bed of the wound, thereby
accelerating the healing process. NATROX™ is also light in weight, weighing only 107
grams, and its small size easily allows this device to be worn under clothing. Furthermore,
this is a silent device and does not cause any sensation of movement, while nicely
enabling a continuous flow of oxygen to the wound site.
Enhanced Product/Service Value
NATROX™ provides clear value to customers in terms of the increased time savings for
healing wounds and the reduced risk of skin infection, which is quite expensive to treat.
The shortening of the healing time reduces the expenses for dressing/wound care
materials. In addition, it reduces the expenses for staff/nurses/caregivers, as the total
number of dressing changes is reduced from the shortened healing time. Furthermore,
oxygen radicals, resulting from increased molecular oxygen flow, perform the important
job of killing bacteria, thereby reducing the chance of infection at the wound site.
Strong Product Positioning
One of the current trends constantly witnessed by Frost & Sullivan in the European wound
care market is the shift in wound healing therapy from hospital/clinical settings to the
home setting. In line with this, Inotec AMD Ltd designed the NATROX™. Unlike hyperbaric
oxygen chambers, which are bulky and expensive, NATROX™ is a small portable device about the size of a mobile phone. Its light weight and small size allow it to be highly
portable, thereby making it an ideal therapy device to be prescribed in homecare settings
for the faster treatment of chronic wounds.
Additionally, Inotec AMD has been recently (April, 2014) granted a research development
contract from NHS England’s SBRI Healthcare programme. The objective of this research
contract is to further investigate and develop the treatment of difficult to heal foot ulcers
commonly suffered by diabetics by using Inotec AMD’s patented Natrox® system. All of
these features and achievements render Natrox® system as an important and game
changing solution in advanced wound care therapy.
Superior Product Reliability and Quality
A study conducted by the Wound Healing Centre on 10 patients using NATROX™ observed
significant wound area reductions, along with a large reduction in pain, during the first 3
weeks of use. NATROX™ is a continuous therapy that allows the patient to remain fully
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mobile while the device delivers sufficient quantities of oxygen to the wound bed to
improve the healing process. This treatment differs from a hyperbaric chamber, in which
the patient has to stay for some predetermined hours, usually with dressings removed so
as to increase the diffusion. Both the NATROX™ Oxygen Generator system and the
Oxygen Delivery System are CE approved.
Responsiveness to Unmet Market Needs
According to the International Diabetes Federation, the prevalence of diabetes was
estimated to be 194 million around the world in 2012. It is expected to reach around 333
million by 2025, triggered by factors such as lifestyle, increased life expectancy rate, and
changing dietary habits. It was also found that leg ulcers affect 0.5 to 1.5% of the entire
adult population of Europe. Despite many treatment options, slow healing and increasing
treatment costs frustrate end users. To combat these issues, Inotec AMD developed a
superior solution in the market: the NATROX™ device. As previously mentioned, this
solution helps create a continuous flow of pure humidified oxygen from the air to the
wound site, thereby significantly accelerating healing time.
Conclusion
The European wound care market is recording steady growth. Companies in this sector
report to Frost & Sullivan now they are constantly attempting develop products that are
innovative and can effectively heal wounds.
Inotec AMD was quick to recognize this trend and introduced NATROX™. As more than
90% of wounds suffer from a lack of oxygen, the launch of NATROX™ effectively
addresses this serious concern with a simple, cost-effective, and highly efficient topical
application of an advanced therapy. Treating a broad spectrum of primary diseases,
including diabetic ulcers, ulcers with venous insufficiency, and pressure ulcers, Frost &
Sullivan expects NATROX™ to be an integral part of any wound care regime in the coming
years. In light of such initiatives and achievements, Inotec AMD has emerged as the
worthy recipient of the 2014 Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Leadership Award.
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Frost & Sullivan’s Global Research Platform
Frost & Sullivan maintains more than 50 years in business and is a global research
organization of 1,800 analysts and consultants who monitor more than 300 industries and
250,000 companies. The Company’s research philosophy originates with the CEO’s 360
Degree Perspective, a holistic research methodology that encourages us to consider
growth challenges, and the solutions companies employ to solve them, from every angle.
This unique approach enables us to determine how best-in-class companies worldwide
manage growth, innovation and leadership. Based on the results of our research in new
product innovation leadership, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2014 European
New Product Innovation Leadership Award in Advanced Wound Care market to Inotec
AMD.
Key Benchmarking Criteria
For the New Product Innovation Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently
evaluated the total client experience and strategy implementation excellence according to
the criteria detailed below.
Visionary Innovation
Criterion 1: Unmet Needs
Criterion 2: Use of Mega Trends
Criterion 3: Pioneering Best Practices
Criterion 4: Blue Ocean Strategy
Criterion 5: Aspirational Ideals
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Product Excellence
Criterion 1: Match to Needs
Criterion 2: Reliability and Quality
Criterion 3: Product/Service Value
Criterion 4: Positioning
Criterion 5: Design
The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best
Practices Awards
Research Methodology
360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN
THE CHAOS
Frost & Sullivan’s 360-degree research
methodology represents the analytical
rigor of our research process. It offers a
360-degree-view of industry challenges,
trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of
Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies.
Too often, companies make important
growth decisions based on a narrow
understanding of their environment,
leading to errors of both omission and
commission. Successful growth strategies
are founded on a thorough understanding
of market, technical, economic, financial,
customer, best practices, and demographic
analyses. The integration of these research
disciplines into the 360-degree research
methodology provides an evaluation
platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at bestin-class levels.
Decision Support Scorecard and Matrix
To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance
categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard and Matrix.
This analytical tool compares companies’ performance relative to each other. It features
criteria unique to each Award category and ranks importance by assigning weights to each
criterion. The relative weighting reflects current market conditions and illustrates the
associated importance of each criterion according to Frost & Sullivan. This tool allows our
research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to each
criterion, and to assign ratings on that basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows
for nuances in performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below.
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Best Practice Award Analysis for Inotec AMD
Decision Support Scorecard: Visionary Innovation
The Decision Support Scorecard illustrates the relative importance of each criterion and
the ratings for each company under evaluation for the New Product Innovation Leadership
Award. The research team confirms the veracity of the model by ensuring that small
changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the
overall relative rankings of the companies.
Finally, to remain unbiased and to protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we
have chosen to refer to the other key players in as Company 2 and Company 3.
DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION LEADERSHIP AWARD
(ILLUSTRATIVE): VISIONARY INNOVATION
Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor;
10 = excellent)
Visionary Innovation
Unmet Needs
Use of Mega
Trends
Pioneering Best
Practices
Blue Ocean
Strategy
Aspirational Ideals
Weighted Rating
Award Criteria
Relative Weight (%)
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
100%
Inotec AMD
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
10.0
9.2
Company 2
8.0
9.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.2
Company 3
8.0
8.0
8.0
7.0
8.0
7.8
Criterion 1: Unmet Needs
Requirement: A clear understanding of customers’ desired outcomes, the products that
currently help them achieve those outcomes, and where key gaps may exist
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Criterion 2: Use of Mega Trends
Requirement: Ability to incorporate long-range, macro-level scenarios into strategic plans,
thereby anticipating and preparing for multiple futures that could occur
Criterion 3: Pioneering Best Practices
Requirement: A nothing-ventured-nothing-gained approach to strategy implementation
that results in processes, tools, or activities that generate a consistent and repeatable
level of success.
Criterion 4: Blue Ocean Strategy
Requirement: Proven track record of creating new demand in an uncontested market
space, rendering the competition obsolete
Criterion 5: Aspirational Ideals
Requirement: A willingness to look beyond the simple goal of generating a profit to embrace
a more powerful ideal of bringing greater value to customers or the planet
Decision Support Scorecard: Product Excellence
DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR PRODUCT LEADERSHIP AWARD (ILLUSTRATIVE):
PRODUCT EXCELLENCE
Measurement of 1–10 (1 = poor;
10 = excellent)
Match to Needs
Reliability and
Quality
Product/Service
Value
Positioning
Design
Weighted Rating
Award Criteria
Relative Weight (%)
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
100%
Inotec AMD
10.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
10.0
9.4
Company 2
9.0
8.0
9.0
8.0
9.0
8.6
Company 3
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
Product Excellence
Criterion 1: Match to Needs
Requirement: Customer needs directly influence and inspire a product’s design and
positioning
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Criterion 2: Reliability and Quality
Requirement: The product consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations for
performance and length of service
Criterion 3: Product/Service Value
Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar
offerings in the market
Criterion 4: Positioning
Requirement: The product or service delivers a unique, unmet need that competitors
cannot easily replicate or replace
Criterion 5: Design
Requirement: The product’s visual presentation makes it easy to use, and makes
customers happy to use it
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Decision Support Matrix
Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard,
analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to
visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which are not yet operating at bestin-class levels.
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