Avotermin for the improvement of scar appearance: a new pharmaceutical in a new therapeutic area.
Disfiguring scarring in the skin is an area of high medical need. Current treatments for scarring have variable or limited effectiveness and have typically not been evaluated in randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trials. The prophylactic improvement in scar appearance, through administration of agents around the time of injury, represents a new therapeutic approach for which there are currently no registered pharmaceuticals. Extensive research into the mechanisms of scar-free and scar-forming healing has provided a robust scientific rationale for the development of avotermin (human recombinant TGF-beta3) as a potential therapeutic for the improvement of scar appearance in humans. The pioneering approach used for the clinical development of avotermin in this new indication has explained the efficacy and safety profile of avotermin in several, prospectively randomized, double-blind clinical studies in human volunteers and patients. These studies, which show a clear translation from preclinical efficacy models to the clinical environment, have shown that prophylactic scar improvement is pharmaceutically achievable. It is anticipated that therapeutics such as avotermin, with a sound mechanistic basis and proof of effectiveness in suitably robust clinical trials, will be available to meet the needs of patients in the foreseeable future.
Occleston
Nick L
NL
Renovo, Core Technology Facility, 48 Grafton Street, Manchester, M13 9XX, UK. nick.occleston@renovo.com
Fairlamb
David
D
Hutchison
John
J
O'Kane
Sharon
S
Ferguson
Mark W J
MW
D000818:Animals; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D055808:Drug Discovery; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3