image: Ronald A. Sherman in his laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. view more
Credit: Photo by Julie MT Sherman
The Director of the BioTherapeutics, Education & Research (BTER) Foundation, Ronald Sherman, MD, was recognized by the editors of Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry as one of the "100 Notable People" in the medical device industry for 2008. This tribute was published in the June, 2008 issue of the trade journal.
Among Dr. Sherman's contributions listed in this cover story are his clinical trials of medicinal maggots for wound-healing, and his success in securing FDA marketing clearance for those maggots --- the first live animal to achieve such a status in FDA history.
Medicinal maggots --- germ-free, therapeutic fly larvae --- were only recently adopted into the realm of medical devices. Medicinal maggots were commonly used in the U.S. 80 years ago, but then disappeared until 1990, when Sherman rediscovered a safe and effective strain, and demonstrated the significant benefits this therapy still holds today. Sherman modernized methods for disinfecting the maggots and applying them to wounds. It was not until 2003 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating medicinal maggots. In January, 2004, Sherman's Medical Maggots became the first living organism to receive marketing clearance by the FDA as a prescription medical device, based on successful efficacy and safety studies. Medical Maggots are now marketed for the treatment of non-healing wounds such as pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, chronic leg ulcers and traumatic wounds. In 2005, Monarch Labs acquired the rights to produce and distribute these maggots. Already they are being used at more than 800 hospitals and wound care centers in the U.S. to treat thousands of patients with serious wounds that would otherwise require prolonged medical therapy, extensive surgery, or amputation.
Dr. Sherman has devoted the past 26 years to studying maggots and maggot therapy. He has been the Director and Chairman of the Board of the BTER Foundation since its founding in 2003. The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting patients, educating health care providers and furthering research in biotherapy such as maggot therapy, leech therapy, cancer-detecting and service dogs, and the use of other living animals to diagnose or treat illness. Some of the Foundation's programs include Patient Assistance Grants to subsidize medical care for those without insurance, and Therapist training workshops to teach medical personnel how to use maggots, leeches and other natural therapies.
In addition to his duties for the BTER Foundation, Dr. Sherman is also the co-founder and Laboratory Director of Monarch Labs.
More information about "Medical Device & Diagnostics Industry" (and their current issue) can be found at: http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/current_issue.html
More information about the 100 Notable People in the Medical Device Industry can be found at: http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/08/06/002.html
More information about the BTER Foundation can be found at their website: http://www.BTERFoundation.org
More information about the Monarch Labs can be found at their website: http://www.monarchlabs.com