European Union funded research SKINTHERAPY MID TERM MEETING 10 OCTOBER 2006

European Union funded research

SKINTHERAPY MID TERM MEETING 10 OCTOBER 2006

The mid term meeting of Skintherapy was held in Dublin, prior to the EB 2006 conference, organised jointly by DebRA UK and DEBRA Ireland, at which a number of the partners were invited participants.

Updates were given by each partner on the progress made to date and there was considerable optimism that work would continue to progress well. This optimism was considerably increased by a private report from one of the partners on a successful proof of principle trial for non-Herlitz JEB on one patient, which utilises many of the same techniques that are envisaged for Skintherapy.

Work is progressing on many fronts. The development of vectors is progressing steadily, the team being very conscious that any proposed vector must be shown to be completely stable if regulatory permission is to be granted for eventual trials on humans.

At the same time, patients from France, Italy and Germany are being appraised for suitability to participate in trials, when the time comes. Currently, over 100 patients have been involved in this process but it is likely that only a very small proportion of these would be suitable for successful transplantation in an early stage trial.

All partners were anxious to ensure a balanced understanding of the prospects for treatment by patients with EB. The work being undertaken is extremely exciting but it is aimed at proof of principle and much work will still be required before an effective treatment is a realistic possibility.

Following the meeting, many of the partners continued their discussions in the context of EB 2006, where they shared their ideas with colleagues from Europe, North America and Japan.

A separate report on EB 2006 can be found on this website.