Combat Medical Systems (CMS) extended its distribution agreement for Combat Gauze, the Department of Defense (DoD) approved hemostatic, as a part of its buyout of former partner Z-Medica Corporation’s ownership interest in the company effective June 21, 2012.
CMS, will remain the exclusive government distributor of the Combat Gauze line through 2014.
To date, Combat Gauze has been fielded to every service member in the DoD. It is authorized in every Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK), Combat Life Saver and medic/corpsman medical bag.
According to a recent DoD Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) survey, in 1,895 documented battlefield uses of Combat Gauze, 90.7 percent of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that Combat Gauze was “effective at stopping severe external bleeding.”
“CMS and Z-Medica worked closely to field Combat Gauze, one of our first service-wide successes,” said Corey Russ, president and founder of CMS. The development of Combat Gauze offers the medic a simple, cost-effective hemostatic product to treat severe external bleeding, especially in areas where a tourniquet cannot be applied. “The buyout will let CMS further focus on being a veteran-owned, DoD medical solutions provider.”
The buyout brings about a new phase of growth that will allow CMS to quickly develop new product lines and further enhance its relationship with DoD and law enforcement agencies.
“As we expand our reach around the world, all our efforts are, always have been, to simplify tactical medicine and deliver our products to our nation’s warfighters and first responders,” Russ said.
Combat Medical Systems, founded in 2008, is headquartered in Fayetteville, NC.