Crawford Healthcare develops treatments and effective dermatological, wound care and diagnostic products for the care and repair of skin.

The University first began working with Crawford Healthcare in 2012 to explore how unique forms of silver might be applied to problems linked to biofilms and antibiotic resistance. Professor Andrew McBain, based in the School of Health Sciences, provided cross-disciplinary expertise to the company, enabling them to develop cutting-edge models of infected wounds – involving advanced cell culture and microbiological techniques.

The University also provided expertise to generate, validate, and interpret data, which subsequently resulted in Crawford gaining approval for its silver-based dressings in the USA.

More recently, the University/Crawford collaboration has patented a new silver-based wound dressing, KerraContact Ag, which has shown remarkable potential – dramatically illustrated in a breakthrough case whereby the dressing prevented a near certain leg amputation following the failure of traditional antibiotic treatment. KerraContact Ag has now become a key product line, selling to over 20 countries worldwide.

The achievements of the partnership was highly commended at the Making a Difference Awards for ‘Outstanding benefit to society through research’, which prompted Richard Anderson, CEO of Crawford Healthcare to comment: “Our relationship with the University of Manchester has significantly contributed to the success of the business with the development of novel dressings to treat wound infection and is a spectacular example of how collaborating with a world-leading University impacts on healthcare innovation and contributes to the success of UK businesses.”