Clinical trial success for Tissues Regenix
HEALTHCARE technology firm Tissue Regenix has revealed that more than half of patients involved in the first trial of a new treatment for chronic leg ulcers have had their wounds completely healed.
The trial of the new clinical product, produced by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Tissue Services, used a graft prepared using Tissue Regenix’ dCELL technology from skin donated by deceased tissue donors.
The therapy involves a graft, known as dCELL Human Dermis, which is not rejected by the patients’ immune system.
It maintains the essential structure of normal skin and serves as a ‘scaffold’ for the patients’ cells to migrate into and regenerate living, functional skin tissue.
dCELL dermis works by taking human donor skin and removing the DNA and cells, using York-based Tissue Regenix’ patented dCELL process, to leave a dermis matrix that can be placed over the wound to aid natural healing.
Lower limb ulcers are a common age-related condition.
Professor John Kearney, NHS Blood and Transplant Tissue Services head of research and development, said: “All of these wounds are painful, debilitating and reduce the patient’s quality of life. In some cases they can lead to the patient requiring full or partial amputation.
“The study showed that dCELL Human Dermis treatment is capable of completely healing chronic leg ulcers in some patients and decreases the size of the wound in others. This evidence offers hope that the treatment will benefit patients in a clinical setting in future.”
Antony Odell, managing director of Tissue Regenix, said: “This is a significant development for NHSBT and Tissue Regenix. Tissue Regenix has partnered with NHSBT to develop dermis treatments using our dCELL technology.
“This dCELL Dermis clinical treatment has the potential to help many patients and address the £400m annual bill that the NHS pays to treat chronic wounds of the lower leg.”
A paper on the trial results is being presented this week at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) in Denver by Dr Ardeshir Bayat, clinician scientist, based at the University of Manchester, who led the study. Further studies in collaboration with Tissue Regenix are planned for later this year.
The NHSBT dCELL Human Dermis graft will be available from NHSBT Tissue Services from this summer.
