The discovery and development of topical medicines for wound healing

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic, nonhealing skin wounds claim >3% of the health-care budget in industrialized countries, and the incidence is rising. Currently, two parallel trends influence innovations within the field of wound healing: the need to reduce spread of antibiotic resistance and the emerging use of health economy and value-based models. Areas covered: This review focuses on the discovery of drug candidates and development of treatments aiming to enhance wound healing in the heterogeneous group of patients with nonhealing wounds. Expert opinion: Nonhealing wounds are multifaceted and recognized as difficult indications. The majority of products currently in use are medical device dressings, or concepts of negative pressure or hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Global best practice guidelines for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers recommend debridement, redressing, as well as infection control, and are critical to the lack of coherent clinical evidence for many approved products in active wound care. To accelerate wound healing, there is an emerging trend toward biologics, gene therapy, and novel concepts for drug delivery in research and in the pipeline for clinical trials. Scientific delineation of the therapeutic mechanism of action is, in our opinion, vital for clinical trial success and for an increased fraction of medical products in the pharmaceutical pipeline.

Preparation and Properties of Minocycline-Loaded Carboxymethyl Chitosan Gel/Alginate Nonwovens Composite Wound Dressings

“…The first is to prepare dressings directly from biologically active materials such as collagen, chitosan and alginate. The second is to add bioactive macromolecules or small molecules into the dressings, such as proteins, growth factors, drugs and even cells [5,6,7,8].…”

Quantifying cellular forces: Practical considerations of traction force microscopy for dermal fibroblasts

“…Given the complexities of wound healing processes, functional assays to monitor these forces can be useful in preclinical development of new therapeutic strategies. Modulation of migration can accelerate wound healing, for example via epidermal growth factor, [ 1 ] and cell migration relies heavily on mechanical forces. [ 2 ] Mechanical force can also intensify scar formation, [ 3 ] and small molecule modulation of cell contraction has reduced scarring in mouse models after incisions [ 4 ] and burns.…”

Systematic review of the efficacy of topical haemoglobin therapy for wound healing

“…Compared with HOBT, TOT is safer because it does not rely on the damaged vascular system to deliver oxygen to the wound 3 . As bioengineering technology has developed, novel methods of delivering topical oxygen have been constantly proposed 12 …”

“…3 As bioengineering technology has developed, novel methods of delivering topical oxygen have been constantly proposed. 12 Traditional methods of providing local continuous oxygen therapy are to supply the wound bed with the required quantity of oxygen externally. However, due to the diffusion barrier of the exudate, oxygen cannot reach the bottom of the wound effectively, reducing the therapeutic effect.…”