August 15, 2003

Bali Bomb Blast Victims Among Those To Benefit From NZ Wound Care Product

Victims of last October’s terrorist bombings in Bali are among a number of Balinese benefiting from a New Zealand honey-based wound care product used to treat burns and skin infections.

Appropriately known as WoundCare, samples of the product were recently donated to the Bali Community Health Trust by complementary health products market leader Comvita New Zealand.

The Bali Community Health Trust reports its voluntary workers in Bali are achieving excellent results in the treatment of burns and skin infections using WoundCare. The WoundCare samples were taken to Bali by new Trust volunteer Sue Cowie, from Auckland. Cowie gave them to a local healthcare provider who is providing ongoing treatment for bomb blast patients.

Trust project manager Annette Culpan, speaking from Bali this week, described WoundCare as a fantastic product for healing wounds in Bali’s tropical conditions.

“The WoundCare has been absolutely brilliant,” according to Culpan. “We have seen some wonderful results using it to treat the burns and wounds of a diverse range of (Balinese) patients including bomb blast victims.

“One patient, simply known as Isaak, had his hand severely burnt in the bombings. Since WoundCare was applied, he has made tremendous progress and has increased mobility in his hand.

“I also witnessed the treatment of serious wounds suffered by a young disabled man injured in a hit and run accident involving a Western tourist. His wounds were almost completely healed within three days of treatment using WoundCare.”

Culpan, who is serving one year in Bali as the recipient of part of the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation World of Difference Programme, says since arriving in Bali early in May she has been shocked at how different the island paradise of Bali is since the bombings.

“The trickle down effect is particularly apparent in the remote villages where loss of income via tourism has further exacerbated these already impoverished areas. Primary healthcare has been hit hardest of all and the feeling in rural Bali is desperate.

“In one village, five out of seven hotels have closed down and the situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. This loss of income has impacted most significantly on primary health, providing strong confirmation that the Trust’s work here in Bali is now more critical than ever.”

After the bombings, the Bali Community Health Trust sent three volunteers to Bali to assist in the care of local bombing victims. They took with them 150 boxes of donated product and worked with bomb blast patients for almost two months.

Encouraged by the positive feedback, the Trust is sending more donated WoundCare samples to Bali. The samples are going with Trust founders Julia West and Sue Cotton who are returning to continue their work in the rural villages and revisit the patients they treated after last October’s bombings.

Annette Culpan says the critical situation in Bali makes the support of companies like Comvita all the more important. She adds the Trust’s work simply would not happen without this type of support.

Comvita’s resident natural health consultant, Dr Caroline Davy, says the positive reports about the effectiveness of WoundCare come as no surprise.

“New Zealand’s manuka honey, which is the basis of our WoundCare 18+ product, is gaining increasing acceptance among health professionals, here and overseas, as an effective alternative to conventional medical treatment of wounds,” says Dr Davy.

“I know of several major UK hospitals which now routinely use manuka honey for wound dressings, and here (in New Zealand) it’s widely used in aged care hospitals. Manuka Honey contains UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) which is a special antibacterial acitivity not found in other honeys.”

Dr Davy claims one of manuka honey’s most important roles in wound care may prove to be of help in the treatment of wounds infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. She points to laboratory testing which shows its success in combating certain bacterial infection.

Comvita’s national sales manager Dave Burnett, who with chairman Bill Bracks spearheaded the company’s Bali initiative, says further WoundCare donations to the Bali Community Health trust are likely.

“We are delighted our donation has been so well received by the Trust and it’s nice to see people less fortunate than ourselves benefiting from a natural product from this part of the world,” says Burnett.

For more information on the Trust’s work in Bali see www.balihealthtrust.com or mail correspondence and donations to PO Box 49, Beachlands, Auckland.

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News Release
September 3, 2003

Comvita Announces Shareholding In Medical Honey Company

Comvita New Zealand announced today it has purchased a 50 per cent shareholding in Cambridge based Api-Med Medical Honey Limited, a company whose medical grade honey products are being trialed in hospitals and clinics in the UK.

Api-Med is a joint venture between WaikatoLink, the commercial arm of the University of Waikato, and the manuka honey marketing company Bee and Herbal New Zealand Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Bee and Herbal's health food business will merge with Comvita which will acquire all of the former's assets including its internationally recognised health food brand, 'Medi-Bee'.

The technological advance of honey as a practical and effective medical device is a key business strategy of Api-Med. This device is a manuka honey-based wound dressing incorporating advanced alginate technology in which the healing product is manufactured into a firm, user-friendly gel. New Zealand manuka honey with the UMF (unique manuka factor) rating is gaining worldwide recognition for its effectiveness in treating wounds.

Api-Med, in conjunction with its UK manufacturing partner Brightwake, recently achieved the CE mark, widely recognised as the medical device milestone and the UK registration which allows manuka honey dressings to be marketed directly to hospitals and clinics.

To support this, Api-Med has developed its Medical Honey Accredited Supplier Programme to ensure that only the highest quality honey is put forward to support what it describes as a unique, global market opportunity for manuka honey as a bone-fide medicine. Api-Med's plans include worldwide distribution into key medical markets.

Bee and Herbal's owner-operators Phil and Sharan Caskey say UMF manuka honey is becoming one of the most exciting natural products on the market for wound treatment.

They claim that not only has Api-Med been instrumental in developing the commercial pathway for honey as a medical device technology, but Bee and Herbal has successfully developed an auditable quality supplier system that involves landowners and beekeepers in the supply of high quality medical grade honey to the marketplace.

Comvita CEO Graeme Boyd says the opportunity to purchase a shareholding in such an innovative and aligned business as Api-Med is one his board and management team recognised as significant for the further development of unique products of New Zealand origin.

"The potential for these products in the medical honey field is huge," says Boyd. "They demonstrate the ability of natural products companies with strong research and development programmes to compete in the medical field.

"Comvita will add organisational and management strength to the company as well as providing access to growth capital through its planned listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange's new AX market in November.

"Bee and Herbal's business is strategic to Comvita. Their 'Medi-Bee' brand of manuka honey already has a very strong position in the UK health market and in Australia."

Gary Betteridge, CEO of WaikatoLink, says the Api-Med development is a significant commercialisation of the university's intellectual property in the use of honey in wound care.

"Our partnership with Bee and Herbal has seen the project develop from a concept to the stage where it is now very close to full commercialisation on a global scale," says Betteridge. "We now feel it is appropriate to let private companies get on with the production, marketing and sales of the technology."

Betteridge says one of the most pleasing aspects is that Comvita's involvement ensures the ownership of the technology remains firmly in New Zealand hands.

END

For more information, please contact:

Alan Bougen phone +64 021 386 972 or email alan.bougen@comvita.com

Phil Caskey phone +64 027 442 2451 or email philc@apimed.co.nz

July 3, 2003

Minister Lauds Market Leader's East Coast Iwi Initiative

Award-winning Comvita New Zealand yesterday presented East Coast iwi with a cheque for $11,700 representing the proceeds from the first collection of honey from beehives installed on Maori land at Waipiro Bay, East Cape.

Commenting on the ground-breaking initiative between Comvita and Ngati Porou, the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Horomia, said from Parliament yesterday he congratulates all those involved in the project for their vision and the professionalism they have displayed.

"I always enjoy recognising the diverse talent and innovative programmes that our people are engaged in," said the Minister.

"This is a good example of iwi working together with a successful company to provide positive outcomes. Congratulations to Ngati Porou - especially those people from Waipiro Bay who had the foresight to give projects like this a chance."

Mr Horomia said Comvita is an example of a business that has gone from humble beginnings to one which was last month named Consumer Products Exporter of the Year for 2003.

In presenting the cheque to hapu representatives at the Kiekie Marae, Comvita CEO Graeme Boyd described the occasion as another step in an ongoing journey.

"The next step in the journey is for the land-owners involved to identify a suitable candidate, or candidates, to be trained in beekeeping," he said. "Comvita will assist with this process."

Comvita's executive director Alan Bougen reminded the land-owners the concept behind the initiative was for the hapu to eventually purchase the hives and run them as a stand-alone operation.
"This venture provides a wonderful opportunity for the land-owners around Waipiro Bay to produce active manuka honey on otherwise unproductive land," said Bougen.

More than 12,000kgs of honey was collected last January from the 300 beehives supplied by Comvita - a top result according to the company's operations manager, Chris Elmsly.

"The hives each yielded around 40kgs of honey," said Elmsly. "This as a very good start. The result reflected the excellent (honey collection) season Comvita enjoyed nationally."

Extraction of the honey from Waipiro Bay was carried out at beekeeper Stephen Weenink's Bay of Plenty extraction facility. The product was packaged at Comvita's Paengaroa manufacturing plant.

Only a small amount of the honey collected had the unique manuka factor (UMF), the special antibiotic property unique to manuka honey. This does not concern Elmsly who points out the vagaries of climate and other unknown factors could just as easily result in all next season's honey having a high UMF.

Manuka honey is taken for digestive health and used as a topical application to help heal wounds. Comvita's WoundCare product is becoming increasingly popular, here and overseas, as its healing properties become known.

Graeme Boyd said the positive start to the East Cape project bodes well for duplicating this (project) with other iwi in areas where manuka thrives - such as Northland and parts of the central North Island.

The East Cape project began last year with the delivery of 300 hives, along with their resident bees, to strategic locations around Waipiro Bay. The hives, valued at approximately $40,000, were sourced from the South Island to avoid varroa mite problems.

End