Formulation and clinical translation of a novel DOX-DelivraTM transdermal treatment for diabetic foot ulcers

This research project aims to develop a novel treatment for diabetic foot ulcers. Individuals with diabetes (3.4 million Canadians) exhibit impaired healing of acute wounds, and 15% (~510,000) are estimated to develop chronic non-healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). DFUs precede 84% of all diabetes related lower leg amputations. Typical DFU treatment is excising devitalised tissue (debridement) and pressure relief (offloading) as a mean to postpone amputation. Novel therapies for DFUs are applied topically to the surface of wounds however clinical testing of such formulas has yielded limited effects on healing. In addition, these products are confined to the wound surface and may have a limited penetration into the skin. The antibiotic, doxycycline (DOX), can potentially promote wound healing in DFUS and Delivra Inc. has commercialized a novel transdermal delivery system, DelivraTM, which can introduce various drugs through the skin. We hypothesize that a DOX-DelivraTM formulation can generate a long-term stable drug product with pre-clinical and clinical efficacy.

Faculty Supervisor:

Michael Stacey

Student:

Partner:

Delivra Corp

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

McMaster University

Program: