Potential Therapeutic, Diagnostic, and Drug-screening Method for Fibrosing Diseases; Potential Way to Improve Wound Healing
- Detailed Technology Description
- Rice University is seeking companies interested in commercializing a novel agarose-based topical cream or wound dressing
- *Abstract
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INCREASED WOUND HEALING USING AGAROSE-BASED TOPICAL CREAMS OR WOUND DRESSINGS
Rice University is seeking companies interested in commercializing a novel agarose-based topical cream or wound dressing technology that has the demonstrated benefit of reducing healing times in partial thickness wounds. The current worldwide market for wound care products is around $8 billion, with hydrogels and hydrocolloids accounting for around 10% of the market and demonstrating a growth rate of 7-10% per year which is well above the growth in low-tech dressings. The driver for growth of advanced wound care products is better efficacy which offers both convenience to the patient and reduced cost to the overall health care system for dealing with predictable complications from infections in slower healing wounds. Our researchers have developed a topical cream formulation that can specifically bind and remove human Serum Amyloid P (SAP) from sites of epithelial injury, resulting in significant improvement in time to wound closure and rate of healing.
APPLICATIONS
Agarose-based topical cream that can be used directly on dermal abrasions or as part of a wound dressing to increase the rate of re-epithelialization and reduce overall healing time.
ADVANTAGES- The clinical grade agarose-based topical cream developed is efficacious in a porcine wound model generally considered predictive of human responses
- Demonstrated results show this agarose-based topical cream beating several competing wound dressings by a statistically significant margin (p<0.05)
- Manufacturing for this agarose-based topical cream has already been established and demonstrated as a sterile, stable formulation
- Agarose-based topical cream is defined as a GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) substance which would reduce time necessary for regulatory approval
TECHNOLOGY
This discovery is a novel approach to reduce wound healing time by utilizing an agarose-based topical cream. SAP has been demonstrated to inhibit the generation of fibrocytes, proteins which play a key role in wound healing through promoting re-epithelialization, granulation tissue formation, and contraction. Using a formulation of SP Sepharose FF/Ca which optimizes the uptake of SAP from the sites of wound injuries, this agarose-based topical cream promotes fibrocyte differentiation and speeds wound healing.
THE INVENTORS
Richard Gomer, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Rice University. His primary scientific interests relate to understanding molecular mechanisms responsible for cell-type choice, cell-density sensing, and cell-number counting in Dictyostelium. Dr. Gomer received his B.A. in Physics from Pomona College and his Ph.D. in Biology from Caltech.
Darrell Pilling, Ph.D., is a Faculty Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Rice University. His primary scientific interests are focused on the basis of leukocyte accumulation and retention at sites of inflammation and fibrosis, and in particular the role of fibrocytes as well as the mechanisms that regulate fibrocyte differentiation. Dr. Pilling received his B.Sc. in Applied and Human Biology from Aston University and his Ph.D. in Rheumatology/Immunology from the University of Birmingham.
Contact:
Mark Staudt
713-348-5580
mstaudt@rice.edu
Rice techID 23012 - Patent Pending
- Country/Region
- USA
