Clinical trials of skin repair products, including biological and dermal skin equivalents, have begun in Russia. These tissue engineering products were developed at the N. K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology, the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science reports.
“This technology replaces traditional skin grafts with lab-grown live cells, making it possible to expand the potential graft area by hundreds of times. Dozens of cellular products are registered and used worldwide as the gold standard for treating wounds and burns, but such drugs had been absent in Russia until now,” the statement says.
According to scientists, biological skin equivalents, which are engineered skin substitutes containing both dermal and epidermal cells, are used to treat deep second- and third-degree burns. The product facilitates the epithelialization of skin lesions and donor wounds, and enhances healing of the transplanted flap following autodermoplasty. The use of the substitute leads to better healing outcomes by preventing hypertrophic scars, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective treatment process.
Dermal skin equivalents, which contain donor skin dermis cells, are intended for healing long-term non-healing wounds, trophic ulcers, and donor sites following autodermoplasty. The product heals skin more effectively and rapidly than existing treatments, while also being more cost-effective and easier to use compared to skin grafts.
According to the authors of the development, the introduction of a line of tissue engineering products for skin repair opens up the possibility of creating a clinical skin transplant bank in the country. The new dermal substitutes will find wide application in reconstructive surgery. Scientists believe that in the future they can also be used in surgery, oncology, urology, gynecology, maxillofacial surgery, dentistry, and plastic surgery.