Amanda Pedersen 1

December 22, 2016

2 Min Read
This Is Why China Should Zip It

Zipline Medical has Chinese Market Approval all zipped up.

Amanda Pedersen

Zipline Medical's Zip surgical skin closure device is now approved in China.

A Silicon Valley company has a shot at zipping up the $543 million Chinese wound closure market. Campbell, CA-based Zipline Medical Inc. secured approval from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) to sell its Zip surgical skin closure device in the region.

Zipline's president and CEO, John Tighe, said the Zip closure is ideally suited for the Chinese market, where procedure volume is going through a growth spurt and there is a need for cost-effective, efficient solutions, and an "appreciation of aesthetics."

The company said the market represents more than 40 million procedures where the device could potentially be used, including Cesarean-sections where the idea for the Zip was born.

Amir Belson came up with the idea for a replacement for sutures during his residency in Israel as he was stitching up a woman who had just given birth via C-section. Concerned about creating a scar that the woman would hate, Belson decided there had to be a better way to close incisions.

Belson ended up bringing the idea to the United States and started Zipline in 2007. In addition to the recent CFDA approval, the device has FDA clearance for the U.S. market and a CE mark in Europe.

The Zip was designed to replace traditional sutures, staples, and glue for surgical incisions and lacerations. The company said it results in a "comfortable, secure wound" and better scar quality. The device offers micro-adjustability and reversibility, the company said, giving surgeons precise control and flexibility during closure.

Zipline also said the Zip is so easy to remove that the surgeon can delegate the closure task and, at the doctor's discretion, patients can even remove the Zip at home. Because there are no skin punctures with the device, scarring is minimal and there are no added pathways for bacteria to enter, the company said.

The company has demonstrated the benefits of the technology in clinical studies in orthopedic total-joint arthroplasty, cardiothoracic surgery, electrophysiology, and dermatology.

Amanda Pedersen is Qmed's news editor. Reach her at [email protected]

[Image credit: Zipline Medical Inc.]

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