B. Braun and NeoMed Partner to Prevent IV/Enteral Misconnections, Enhance Patient Safety

B. Braun Perfusor® SPACE Syringe Pump and NeoMed® Enteral Safety System address catheter/tubing misconnections.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 20, 2010—Addressing a significant issue in neonatal healthcare while helping to also address Joint Commission Sentinel Event alerts, B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) announced its alliance with NeoMed, Inc. – a manufacturer of medical devices specifically designed to enhance patient safety and clinical outcomes of the neonatal patient. The partnership, consisting of B. Braun’s Perfusor® SPACE Syringe Pump and NeoMed®’s Enteral Safety System, will help healthcare professionals prevent enteral/IV misconnections and medication errors.

“Catheter/tubing misconnections continue to contribute to serious, life threatening errors when clinicians mistakenly administer oral/enteral liquids through IV lines rather than through an enteral feeding tube,” said Gale White, Vice President of Infusion Systems Marketing for B. Braun Medical Inc. “The combination of both B. Braun’s Perfusor SPACE Syringe Pump and NeoMed’s Enteral Safety System promises the opportunity to provide healthcare professionals with a unique connector  that allows for the safest, most accurate delivery of both enteral feedings and enteral medications. Perfusor SPACE Syringe Pump is the only syringe pump that recognizes 3 through 60cc NeoMed enteral syringes guaranteeing accuracy of flow at +/-2% using NeoMed syringes and extension sets.”

Designed with both adult and pediatric healthcare facilities in mind, the small, lightweight SPACE Infusion System allows for flexibility and easy transport within a number of care settings. At 9 inches by 6 inches and weighing only three pounds, it has the capability to stack up to 16 pumps in any combination of syringe and large volume within a single bedside tower allowing the SPACE system to meet the needs of any clinical setting. The SPACE system offers the latest in dose error reduction software with a large customizable drug library well suited to pediatric environments.

“The collaboration between B. Braun and NeoMed will help to address an unfortunately – and increasingly – common patient safety crisis in healthcare today,” said Tony Lair, President and CEO of NeoMed. “Working together we can ensure clinicians have the tools they need to make certain catheter/tubing misconnections are an issue of the past – ultimately helping to prevent serious harm or death.”

NeoMed’s Enteral Safety System includes oral dispensers, enteral only extension sets and feeding tubes that are designed to be incompatible with IV or Luer Locking devices. The offset tip allows for delivery of Colostrum into the patient first and has a trademarked orange silk screen which identifies with an orange extension set and orange feeding tube, allowing for visual color coordination complying with Joint Commission, FDA and ASPEN recommendations.

For more information, contact B. Braun at 800-227-2862 or visit www.space.bbraunusa.com.

About NeoMed
NeoMed, Inc. was formed in 2007 out of the need to create quality neonatal focused devices dedicated to enhancing patient safety. At the core of NeoMed’s vision is the manufacturing of enteral systems that eliminated dangerous misconnections errors common results from using IV product to deliver enteral nutrition. Our first products were oral/enteral syringes, extension sets and feeding tubes all designed not to connect to luer slip or luer locking devices. The NeoMed Enteral Safety System (ESS) became the market leading and only system that complies with all of the recommendations set forth by ASPEN, AAMI, and the USP Medication Safety Forum

About B. Braun
B. Braun is a leading manufacturer of infusion therapy and pain management products with an environmentally-friendly focus. Guided by the company’s “Sharing Expertise®” philosophy, B. Braun addresses the critical issues of infection prevention, medication safety and environmental responsibility by promoting best practices that help clinicians reduce medication errors, prevent healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) and achieve sustainability objectives.

Consistently recognized by Frost & Sullivan and KLAS for its medical technology and support services, B. Braun employees share their knowledge with colleagues and customers to improve working processes in hospitals and medical practices and to enhance the safety of patients and healthcare professionals. For more information, call 800-227-2862, e-mail inquiry.us@bbraun.com or visit B. Braun at www.bbraunusa.com.