Medovate, the medical device development company, has concluded a distribution agreement with Brisbane-based LTR Medical which will provide exclusivity for SAFIRA (SAFer Injection for Regional Anaesthesia) in Australia and New Zealand.

Developed in collaboration with anaesthetists in the NHS, the aim of SAFIRA is to help revolutionise standard regional anaesthesia clinical practice. 

Chris Rogers, sales and marketing director, Medovate, said: “We are delighted to have reached agreement with LTR Medical who have the necessary experience in bringing innovative new medical devices to market, which was a key consideration for us. This partnership will now ensure that the clinical, patient safety and cost savings benefits that we believe SAFIRA offers will now be available to regional anaesthetists in Australia and New Zealand.”

Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, recent publications have recommended regional anaesthesia be considered whenever surgery is planned for a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient. This is because regional anaesthesia preserves respiratory function and avoids aerosolisation and the potential for transmission of COVID-19 compared to general anaesthesia.

Already launched across the United States, this distribution agreement to bring SAFIRA to market in Australia and New Zealand marks a further step in making this new medical technology available to healthcare providers.

Danny Zanardo, VP commercial LTR Medical, said: “The team at LTR Medical are excited to partner with Medovate and bring SAFIRA to Anaesthetists and patients in the Australian and New Zealand Markets. We believe the SAFIRA technology is disruptive in context of improving workflow, improving safety and reducing risk in regional anaesthesia techniques. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Medovate.”