Horse medication is being used successfully on diabetics. Image / NZME illustration
Horse medication is being used successfully on diabetics. Image / NZME illustration
Tissue Repair Technologies is close to a breakthrough with a gel for wound treatment in humans.
The gel, already used on animals, stimulates cells to regenerate tissue.
Treatment aims to benefit diabetics, elderly, and burns patients.
Warning: This story contains graphic content
A New Zealand company believes it is on the verge of a world-first breakthrough with a medicine that could revolutionise wound treatment in diabetics, the elderly and burns patients.
Right now, a gel made by Tissue Repair Technologies isbeing used successfully across the globe to treat wounds in horses and other companion animals – but from the beginning, it was designed to benefit humans.
And those behind it believe it could be a reality in a matter of months.
University of Canterbury Professor Rudi Marquez-Mazlin says the collaboration with three of his colleagues has been “a passion project” for nearly 20 years.
It works by stimulating the cells needed to begin vascularisation – the healing process.
“They start vascularising and basically regenerate tissue without creating scars, which is really cool,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
In explaining the discovery, Marquez-Mazlin gives the example of how quickly wounds heal in our mouths.
“There’s a protein in your mouth which helps you heal very quickly. It’s migration stimulation factor – MSF,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
Marquez-Mazlin and his colleagues were able to isolate the MSF protein and found that it’s not only the mouth where it helps with healing.
“But there’s a problem,” says Marquez-Mazlin, “proteins are like milk, they’ll degrade - they’ll go off.”
That’s where the breakthrough was made.
Professor Rudi Marquez-Mazlin from University of Canterbury. He and a team of colleagues have been working for almost 20 years on developing a gel that kickstarts the healing of wounds. Photo / Supplied
The team of Christchurch-based scientists successfully designed a small molecule that mimics the protein and has greater stability. It effectively marshals the cells, coordinating the body’s initial response to healing.
“[It] interacts with your cells and tells the cells what to do. ‘Okay, we need to make blood vessels’,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
He likens its effect to the starter motor in a car.
“If your starter doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter if we have a massive V8 engine. So, what this molecule does is like a starter [motor], just get it going and then the whole engine takes over. And we’re using the body’s own cell supply,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
He believes the potential for diabetes sufferers and the elderly is massive because both groups struggle to produce the “kick-starter” protein – and therefore are unable to properly heal their wounds.
“Take an example of [Type 2] diabetics, if you end up with a foot ulcer you have a pretty good chance of getting amputated because you’ll get infected. Then your life expectancy goes down to 60 months at best,” he says.
Initial laboratory trials proved successful with mice.
“We had diabetic mice, and we made them heal as fast as the healthy mice,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
But the team realised there was a problem with mice as a test case.
“Our musculature is very different - they will heal differently,” says Marquez-Maslin.
That’s when they began to trial their cutting-edge medicine on much larger patients.
“Horses are a lot like people, and horses suffer from really bad wound healing,” he says.
Progress pictures following the application of the TRTx gel to the leg of an injured horse. Photo / Supplied
“Like diabetics, particularly below the knee - they will not heal very quickly.”
The first equine patient was treated 3-4 years ago and Marquez-Mazlin says there has been no downside - “so far, so good”, he says.
The next step is the biggest. Seeking approval to use the gel on human subjects.
“We want to do a trial with burns patients at the hospital. If you have a burn, we bandage it. We can remove the heat away from the wound, but then we just bandage it and hope that it’s not too bad,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
“Also, people end up with horrendous scars.”
To gain approval, he’ll head to the Health and Disability Ethics Committee next week. Marquez-Mazlin says their submission will be led by highly regarded plastic surgeon, Dr Terry Creagh. Creagh was one of a team of Christchurch surgeons who treated Whakaari/White Island victims in 2019.
Injured from the Whakaari/White Island volcanic explosion are ferried into waiting ambulances at Whakatāne Wharf. Photo / NZME
“We need to show that there is a good chance that it will have a positive effect on patients, that it will have no harm on them,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
Has he been tempted to trial the gel on his own wounds?
“I couldn’t comment. [But] I’m fairly confident it’ll work on people. Just leave it at that,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
If the gel is adopted in a human trial – the potential is huge.
“[New Zealand is] spending over a couple of billion dollars a year already, dealing with [Type 2] diabetic complications,” says Marquez-Mazlin.
The financial implications for Tissue Repair Technologies could also be significant – but Marquez-Mazlin insists the benefit to medicine is a greater reward.
“I do quite like the idea of actually doing something for the common good, you know? Oh it’d be nice to make tons of money, but I think the biggest job is something that helps and it’s actually affordable,” he says.
The gel was designed in New Zealand and is made in Christchurch.
The Health and Disability Ethics Committee confirmed that they’ll hear the application next week and must grant a decision on the same day.
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