FS2 enters into phase II clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of scars.
A unique treatment for scarring has just been cleared by Health Canada. Phase II trials will begin for FS2, which was developed by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in order to prevent scarring and breakdown existing scars. BirchBioMed Inc. has been given exclusive license by the University to develop this therapy. The company specializes in the commercialization, clinical evaluation and development of proprietary anti-scarring drugs, autoimmune therapeutics/therapies and novel strategies for transplantation.
The trial will feature 55 individuals, Dr. Anthony Papp, M.D. Ph.D., surgeon/clinician and leading authority on burn trauma and scarring will serve as the study’s Principal Investigator. "As a burn surgeon, I see the horrific effects of scarring every day," said Dr. Papp. "This first phase II study is an important, major milestone in the treatment of scarring, as there is no therapeutic on the market today that has shown the unequivocal results that FS2 has demonstrated in robust pre-clinical scar models."
The phase II trial will bring clarity to how effective FS2 is in prevent post-surgical scar formation. Speaking on the potential of the treatment, UBC Professor of Surgery Dr. Aziz Ghahary, an expert in wound and scar research and the Director of the British Columbia Firefighters Burn and Wound Healing Laboratory noted, “Until now there has yet to be a single therapeutic that can target the molecular aspects of scarring, which result from the body over-repairing after an injury, surgery or disease."
The FS2 clinical trial differs from most in that it is meant to lessen post-surgical scar formation for patients that have been given skin-grafting procedures in order to repair their wounds, recently. A skin-grafting procedure is defined as the removal of skin from one area of the body, this skin is then transplanted it to a wound that, because of its severity, will have difficulty healing.
Dr. Ryan Hartwell, BirchBioMed's CSO, commented that the therapy has the chance to impact millions: "Approaches to radically reduce costs and improve treatment outcome for burn survivors and others debilitated by scars have been historically challenging, fueling the excitement and promise around our unique discoveries that for the first time address the build-up of scar protein, regardless of etiology."
