DoD awards Regenicin and Lonza $18 million to develop PermaDerm for severe burns

The U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded more than $18 million in funding to a unit of Lonza Group, Ltd. for the development and commercialization of the therapeutic candidate, PermaDerm™ for the treatment of severe burns among U.S. troops and civilians.  The funding was announced at a conference celebrating advancements in regenerative medicine on November 9th in Walkersville, MD.

Regenicin, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: RGIN), has an agreement with Lonza pursuant to which Regenicin has been charged to obtain FDA approval for the commercial sale of PermaDerm.  The funding will assist Regenicin and Lonza in advancing the clinical trials to be conducted in connection with the FDA approval process.  Regenicin was a presenter at the conference at which the funding was awarded.

PermaDerm™, an engineered skin substitute grown from a patient's own skin cells, has already been used to treat more than 150 pediatric, catastrophic burn victims through an Investigation Device Exemption issued by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  This is PermaDerm's first clinical trial to be conducted on adults, a major milestone for achieving pre-market approval by the FDA.

The initial trial will contain 10 patients, both male and female, between the ages of 18 and 40, who suffer third-degree burns.  These trials and future trials will take place at the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston and at a second site to be determined.