Description:
Reference #1282:
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for a newly discovered pimarane diterpenoid compound for use in wound healing.
Background:
The regeneration of healthy and functional skin remains a huge challenge due to its multilayered structure and the presence of different cell types organized within the extracellular matrix. Despite recent advances in wound care products, traditional therapies based on natural compounds, such as plant extracts and natural active components offer viable alternatives. These compounds have the ability to enhance access to healthcare, and overcome some limitations associated to the modern products and therapies, such as high costs, long manufacturing times, and increased bacterial resistance.
Invention Description:
This invention is the use of an effective dose of the pimarane diterpenoid or its derivatives, analogues, or homologs to accelerate wound healing. This compound was isolated from the plant Hymenocrater elegans and purified before being exposed, in vitro to select cell lines. To this end, the effects of this compound on vascularization and skin wound closure were demonstrated to be promising. Low toxicity compounds with the potential to simultaneously promote vascular formation and skin wound closure are in high demand.
Potential Applications:
This newly discovered compound can be used separately or in combination with other wound healing agents to promote the wound healing process. It can be applied to different wound problems including ulcers, burns, sunburns, traumatic injuries, hemorrhoids, bedsores, diabetic wounds, and ischemic syndromes such as coronary or peripheral arterial disease and angiogenesis-dependent disease. The compound can also be effective when formulated as skin conditioning, UV protective, or antiaging products in the form of a cream, a gel, an ointment, or a skin pad. More potent activities may be achievable for other applications of wound healing, either through semi synthesis to augment its potential, or in combination with other compounds. As many diseases are associated with angiogenesis, therapeutic products inducing new blood vessel growth is highly desirable.
Advantages and Benefits:
Natural products are a historically successful source of medicinally active compounds and have the potential to provide targeted wound healing responses while limiting the side effects associated with currently utilized treatment. Traditional therapies can also be combined with modern drugs, allowing for the development of innovative therapeutic treatments that address important medical needs, such as minimizing bacterial resistance and reducing healing time. Most of currently available wound healing pharmaceutical reagents are based on growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, collagen or hyaluronic acid. There are many disadvantages associated with these agents due to side effects including inflammatory response and undesired stimulation of other cell types. This calls for alternative wound healing agents or mechanisms that lead to the more effective and rapid treatments with less side effects. It is desirable to develop new, safer molecules that can effectively promote the epithelialization and vascular formation in both acute and chronic wounds. There are drugs currently on the market for wound healing applications, but due to their high costs, low accessibility, and side effects, more effective and safer drugs have drawn scientists’ attention to natural compounds, such as this newly discovered compound.