TISSUE THERAPIES TREATS 1ST VITROGRO PATIENT
August 13th 2008 11:39
Monday August 11, 2008
Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies
* ASX, BIOTECHS UP: SUNSHINE UP 27%, PHOSPHAGENICS DOWN 11%
* TISSUE THERAPIES TREATS 1ST VITROGRO PATIENT
* BIOTA CHALLENGES COMMON COLD IN PHASE IIa TRIAL
* ACRUX REQUESTS ‘COMMERCIAL ARRANGEMENT’ TRADING HALT
* VICTORIA GOVT CLAIMS $1bn INNOVATION SPEND AT IDT LAUNCH
* BONE RAISES $1m
* INCITIVE MEETING BACKS DIRECTORS, OPTIONS, SHARE ISSUE
To read all these articles in full, subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au
TISSUE THERAPIES
Tissue Therapies has begun the first human trial of its Vitrogro wound care treatment saying it “could revolutionize” the venous, pressure and diabetic ulcer market.
Tissue Therapies’ chief executive officer Dr Steven Mercer told Biotech Daily the first patient was an elderly woman with venous ulcers.
Dr Mercer said he expected to hear more about the long-awaited Toronto trial this week.
The trial was originally scheduled for December 2007 but has been delayed with ongoing discussions between the company and the Canadian regulatory agency.
Tissue Therapies chairman Roger Clarke the trial was “the culmination of 10 years of research and development and follows successful preclinical and human skin cell trials conducted in the laboratory”.
“We believe Vitrogro has the potential to save both lives and limbs and, based on laboratory research to date, to generate a strong global business for Tissue Therapies,” Mr Clarke said.
The inventor of the Vitrogro technology Prof Zee Upton said that non-healing diabetic, pressure and venous ulcers alone caused an amputation every 30 seconds across the world.
“Using Vitrogro could potentially help relieve some of these drastic personal, clinical and financial impacts,” Prof Upton said.
“Imagine living with an ulcer and up to four layers of dressings or compression hosiery during the height of summer, with pain, reduced mobility and a reliance on carers and the health system, for potentially up to six months or until your limb is amputated?“ Dr Upton said.
“Vitrogro has the potential to significantly reduce healing times and improve patients’ quality of life through less pain, regaining mobility and reducing the burden on others,” she said.
“Our studies show that Vitrogro will assist in the fast and effective treatment of ulcers by boosting the natural proteins in normal skin that encourage the proliferation and migration of healthy cells,” Prof Upton said.
Tissue Therapies said the first human trial of the Vitrogro synthetic protein technology was taking place under the direction of the chief clinical investigator and vascular surgeon at Fremantle Hospital in Western Australia Prof Michael Stacey.
Prof Stacey said the application of Vitrogro was very simple.
“If this is successful, the new product could reduce the treatment time for thousands of patients with chronic wounds and would simultaneously cut treatment costs,” Prof Stacey said.
Mr Clarke said the expected positive results were likely to lead to the commercialization of Vitrogro within two years for widespread use on ulcers and burns for a potential market of more than 200 million people annually worldwide.
“While Tissue Therapies plans to focus on the application of Vitrogro on the chronic ulcer market, it also intends to continue with its burns application work,” Mr Clarke said.
Vitrogro’s protein formulation allows the skin to heal itself by substantially accelerating cell growth, cell migration and protein production; the essential elements of tissue repair and wound healing, the company said.
Mr Clarke said the human trial coincided with a capital-raising to fund the large scale manufacturing of the Vitrogro to maximize future sales, provide additional working capital and fund further wound care product development (see Biotech Daily; July 21, 2008).
Tissue Therapies was up 0.3 cents or 3.09 percent to 10 cents.
subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au
| 22 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
