Canton, Mass. – Award-winning research from a multidisciplinary team at the University of Miami provides new insight on what happens to a patient’s genomic profile when Apligraf®, an FDA-approved, bioengineered living cell-based therapy from Organogenesis Inc., is applied to a chronic venous leg ulcer (VLU), when compared to conventional therapy alone. The analysis found that Apligraf altered specific molecular and cellular responses in the wound environment, reversing the chronic wound profile to resemble more of an acute wound profile.
“This is the first time this type of detailed gene profile analysis has been conducted to evaluate the response to a wound healing modality,” said Marjana Tomic-Canic, PhD, Director of the Wound Healing and Regenerative Medicine Research Program at the University of Miami. “Our findings show that Apligraf can reverse the gene expression profile of a chronic, non-healing ulcer into a profile similar to that of an acute, healing wound.”
The research was presented at the Wound Healing Society Annual Meeting and Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Spring 2016 meeting, where it received both a WHS Young Investigators Award, which recognizes the best and brightest new research talents in wound healing, and a top scoring SAWC poster award in the Laboratory Research category.
“Apligraf continues to break new ground as the first wound-healing therapy to demonstrate a significant change in the genetic profile of the treated wound,” said Gary S. Gillheeney, Sr., President & CEO of Organogenesis. “This analysis provides valuable information about Apligraf’s mechanism of action and helps to distinguish it from other available skin substitutes.”
About Apligraf®
Apligraf is FDA-approved for the treatment of venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers lasting longer than one month that have not adequately responded to conventional therapy. Apligraf contains two layers of human living cells: a layer of differentiated keratinocytes and a layer of fibroblasts in a collagen matrix. When placed on a wound previously unresponsive to treatment, Apligraf provides cells, collagen matrix and other proteins and has been demonstrated to promote healing. In controlled clinical studies, Apligraf has been shown to be an effective and safe wound care treatment, superior to conventional treatments alone.
About Organogenesis
Massachusetts-based Organogenesis Inc. is a global leader in advanced wound care innovation and technologies, including bio-active wound healing and tissue regeneration. The company’s mission is to bring safe and effective wound care products to patients and to standardize their use in everyday medical care. Among Organogenesis’ suite of products are FDA-approved Apligraf® and Dermagraft®, the best-in-class products for bio-active wound healing, and recently introduced FDA-cleared PuraPly Antimicrobial™, which advances wound management for a wide variety of wound types. For more information, please visit www.organogenesis.com.