Spray-on treatment speeds leg ulcer healing

Fort Worth, Texas - A spray-applied cell therapy now known only as HP802-247 could be the next major step in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

In a multicenter study sponsored by Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, which developed the material, the “spray-on skin” treatment - which consists of keratinocytes and fibroblasts suspended in a mixture of different types of proteins associated with blood clotting - was tested on 228 patients with venous leg ulcers, according to a company statement. All patients who took part in the trial were also treated with compression bandages, the most common treatment currently available for leg ulcers.

Patients who received the spray-on treatment, applied to the wound every seven days or every 14 days, experienced faster healing and greater likelihood of wound closure than those in the control group, according to the report.

The study examined the effects of different dosages of the treatment, with those who received the most effective dosage experiencing a 52 percent greater likelihood of wound closure than the control group at 12 weeks, and a 16 percent greater reduction in wound area after seven days. In addition to closing a higher overall proportion of wounds, the active treatment also accelerated wound closure by an average of 21 days compared with the control group.

 “In this trial, several dosing regimens seemed to provide benefit to patients compared with vehicle,” researchers wrote. “The results are sufficiently promising that larger randomized trials comparing HP802-247 to standard treatment for venous leg ulcers are now warranted.”

The study was published online Aug. 3 in The Lancet.

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