A MEDICAL treatment devised by a York life sciences firm to heal wounds is now available to 20.7 million people following further approvals in the US.

Tissue Regenix, based at York Science Park, has secured approval from the Noridian Healthcare Solutions and Palmetto GBA Medicare administrators as it continues work to commercialise its DermaPure product, which works by taking human donor skin and removing the DNA and cells, to leave a natural scaffold to treat wounds.

The approval from Noridian Healthcare Solutions and Palmetto GBA means that DermaPure is now available to 20.7 million Medicare beneficiaries across 30 states and follows two previously announced approvals.

Tissue Regenix says gaining Medicare approval for DermaPure across the United States is a key element of its strategy for full commercialisation of the product and allows the company to access the largest potential group of US patients who would be unable to benefit from Tissue Regenix products without it.

The Medicare programme in the United States is a national social insurance programme which provides health insurance for citizens aged 65 and over. It is administered by bodies such as Noridian Healthcare Solutions and Palmetto GBA, each one with their own jurisdiction of states.

Antony Odell, chief executive of Tissue Regenix said: "We are thrilled with DermaPure's performance in 2015. In the space of just four months the product has gained approval for coverage in over half of the American states via what is a highly rigorous and intensive selection process.

"This is further evidence of both the continued strong clinical performance of DermaPure and Tissue Regenix delivering on its clearly defined strategy for full commercialisation of the product in the US.

"While it is hard to predict the time frame for further approvals, we are confident that the successful clinical outcomes of DermaPure across an ever widening pool of patients stands us in good stead for gaining additional coverage."