At eight years old, Ben Smith was involved in an accident leaving him with severe burns to 55% of his body. 

Whilst the event itself is now 20 years in the past, Ben is reminded of it every day thanks to the scars left behind. 

Tissue scarring is a vital part of wound healing. However, when wounds heal incorrectly, serious trauma occurs or when fibrotic tissue deposition goes unchecked (such as with keloids) serious comorbidities can arise. Major scars can have serious complications to the patient far beyond aesthetic discomfort. The psychological and physical tolls of scarring are well documented and yet, there remains limited pharmacological approaches to eliminate scars. 

Specialists in fibrotic conditions, Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) are developing a topical anti-fibrotic cream called PXS-6302 in collaboration with The University of Western Australia.

The world first trials are recruiting patients like Ben Smith to evaluate the drug’s efficacy, testing its ability to improve skin quality, elasticity and appearance. 

“Cream like this, honestly, it’s a miracle to try and alleviate the amount of operations I would have needed,” said Ben. 

Lead investigator for the trial is none other than Professor Fiona Wood AM, expert in the field of skin and burns. 

“I always say that scars are more than skin deep, they go right to the core,” said Professor Wood in a recent 9 News feature segment. “They can affect you because they’re itchy and painful, and that can be pervasive, can influence your sleep.”

Professor Wood has spent her career innovating in the field having invented and commercialised spray-on skin under Avita Medical (ASX: AVH) and receiving an Order of Australia for her contributions to medicine. Now, Professor Wood is guiding the development of PXS-6302. 

“We’re trying to drive our goalposts, always towards a scarfree solution.”  

PXS-6302 effectively melts away scars by interrupting certain enzymes responsible for scarring, called lysyl oxidases. The technology this is based on is the same as Pharmaxis’ other lead asset, PXS-5505. 

The drug passed Phase 1 safety trials, proving to be safe and well tolerated in healthy volunteers, achieving full inhibition of the lysyl oxidase enzymes within the skin, with minimal systemic exposure. 

The next trial is planned for 50 patients like Ben Smith, with established scarring. The drug will also be studied in a second trial specifically for burns scars. 

Billions of dollars are spent every year on scar and burn treatment as well as minor scars and prophylactics. 

The recent 9 News feature piece invited patients to enroll for the trial to expand and gather relevant data and ultimately, see this medication become commercially available. 

“Please come and join us,” said Ben Smith. “At the moment, we’re needing more participants so we can get more data and help people like myself and more importantly, kids.”

As trials progress, investors can expect more mainstream media coverage, like the Channel 9 piece thanks to Professor Wood’s positive public profile. 

Seeking to “unscar the scar” could prove seriously lucrative for Pharmaxis, offering an effective treatment for new and established scars.