An anti-scarring drug invented by UBC researchers will soon complete testing to determine its safety in humans as a topically administered drug. This marks the first time UBC researchers have conducted clinical testing of a drug they developed without industry sponsorship.
“Our discovery marks a significant medical breakthrough toward the treatment of scars and autoimmune diseases. It has the potential to impact millions of patients worldwide,” said Dr. Aziz Ghahary, a professor in UBC’s Department of Surgery and the director of the British Columbia Firefighters Burn and Wound Healing Laboratory, part of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. “Until now, there has not been any specific therapeutic agent approved by either the FDA or Health Canada to target the molecular aspects of scarring.”
With Fibrostop, the name Dr. Ghahary and his team use to describe the drug, the research team began UBC’s first ever non-industry sponsored clinical trial for a drug candidate discovered at UBC. Recently, Dr. Ryan Hartwell, co-inventor of Fibrostop and postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ghahary’s lab, founded a spin-off company called BirchBioMed Inc. to further the clinical development of the drug and associated technologies.
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