Anti-Scar Treatment for Deep Partial-Thickness (DPT) Burns

Purpose

This solicitation, issued by MTEC, represents a Request for Project Proposals (RPP) for MTEC support of the Dental and Craniofacial Trauma Research and Tissue Regeneration Directorate, U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR). Military relevance is a critical component of Solution Brief submission. Strategic and tactical oversight for the award(s) supported by this RPP will be provided by Dr. Kai Leung at the USAISR.

Overall End Goal of Program

The goal of this program is to develop a pharmacotherapy (i.e., drug treatment) for the acute management and prophylactic treatment of deep partial-thickness (DPT) burn wounds that is conducive to operations in combat theatre as well as fixed medical facilities. The Government seeks to rapidly advance the development of prototype drug therapy treatment(s) to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in DPT burn-injured patients to enhance recovery, improve outcomes, and limit scarring.

Background

The current standard of care for DPT-burn injury remains supportive in nature, based on management of symptoms, with no prophylactic and drug therapies that address the scarring. Despite numerous clinical trials on potential therapies, no drug is approved by the FDA for the prophylaxis or treatment of wound scarring. DPT-burn injury is associated with significant long-term morbidity requiring costly corrective surgeries. Up to $7.5 billion is spent annually on treatment of burns in the United States, and much of this cost is related to treatment of the resulting scar and contracture (Marshall et al., 2018, PMID: 29392092}. Therefore, it is important to develop a therapy that will mitigate the life-long disability and rehabilitation costs associated with these post-injury conditions.

Objective of RPP

The USAISR has developed a novel anti-scarring therapy and demonstrated proof-of-concept in mouse and swine models of DPT thermal burn. This RPP is seeking a team to continue the development of this anti-scarring therapy through the completion of a Phase 0/1 clinical trial.

Points of Contact

For inquiries, please direct your correspondence to Biomedical Research Associate Chuck Hutti, Ph.D. at Chuck.Hutti@ati.org.