Skin substitute trials 'a success'

Patients will no longer have to undergo painful autografting for second-degree burns.

Development of pioneering techniques into the field of skin tissue substitutes has been labelled a complete success after a proof-of-concept clinical trial came back with top-line results.

Experiments were conducted by Stratatech Corporation, a leader in regenerative medicine, which aims to use its universal skin replacement to help those patients who have suffered severe burns.
Of the 20 subjects who participated in the trial, 19 were able to avoid having painful autograft surgery, while 17 progressed to complete wound closure within just three months.

"Achieving complete wound closure with a single application of StrataGraft tissue is truly remarkable," said Lynn Allen-Hoffmann, Stratatech’s chief executive and chief scientific officer.
"This product offers burn victims the opportunity to avoid painful and potentially disfiguring autografts," she added.

The study, which took place in a number of clinics, was designed to assess the potential application of skin replacements in cases where second degree partial-thickness burns had been suffered.