Scientists from the Australian National University have discovered the gene mutation responsible for causing psoriasis, and the findings could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment for patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. “We were able to identify the gene that could be important in enabling this progression from a skin-only condition to a skin-and-joint condition,” lead study author Chelisa Cardinez told BioWorld.

Stimlabs LLC received U.S. FDA approval for Corplex P, a wound care product that uses placental tissue to facilitate wound healing. “Corplex P is the first particulate device derived from human umbilical cord extracellular matrix indicated for the management of acute and chronic wounds,” Stimlabs CEO John Daniel told BioWorld.

Dermasensor Inc. received U.S. FDA clearance for its non-invasive skin cancer evaluation device that provides quantitative identification of all skin cancer types at the point of care and within seconds. The point-and-click device is designed to facilitate detection of skin cancers by primary care physicians (PCPs) and speed the time to diagnosis and treatment.

In its second approval this month from the U.S. FDA, Avita Medical Inc.’s Recell system received premarket approval for the repigmentation of stable depigmented vitiligo lesions. The approval marks the first therapeutic device offering a one-time treatment for vitiligo at the point of care. Using the device, a clinician prepares and delivers autologous skin cells from pigmented skin to stable depigmented areas.

The U.S. FDA granted premarket approval to Avita Medical Inc.’s Recell system for a wide range of full-thickness skin defects, potentially quintupling the company’s market opportunity. Recell is a cell harvesting device that produces and delivers a regenerative cell suspension using a small sample of the patient’s own skin. The Spray-On Skin cells, previously approved for use in severe burns, stimulate healing and repigmentation. “This is a landmark approval representing an inflection point for Avita Medical,” said Avita CEO Jim Corbett. “The FDA approval now offers surgeons a best-in-class treatment option for a multitude of severe wounds within inpatient and outpatient settings.”

If Orlucent Inc. has its way atypical moles in adults will soon give up their secrets to clinicians on the lookout for skin cancer, this after the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company received a U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for its non-invasive Orlucent skin fluorescence imaging system. The system is a hand-held point-of-care molecular-based imaging device that identifies “tissue remodeling activity” inside atypical moles that could be a precursor to early melanoma.

Unlike amphibians, mammals do not regenerate appendages. Except when they do. “If you amputate one of the branches off of the antler [of a reindeer], it will also regenerate,” Jeff Biernaskie told BioWorld. Even without amputation, the antlers of both male and female reindeer regenerate annually, including their skin. That regeneration is “the only large mammal model of true skin regeneration,” he said.

After working through a complete response letter (CRL) brought about by COVID-19 from the U.S. FDA in June 2021, Mediwound Ltd. has received the agency’s approval for Nexobrid (anacaulase-bcdb) to treat severe burns in adults.

Since its launch in the U.S. in April, Biolab Sciences Inc.’s Dermistat has facilitated the healing of 80 wounds using its unusual gel-graft formula. The product transforms a patient’s skin cells into a partial thickness skin graft in 48 hours and a full-thickness graft in five to seven days. The autologous graft material speeds recovery following surgery or burns and helps to resolve non-healing wounds.

The U.S. FDA has rejected Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug-device combination to treat the viral skin disease molluscum for a third time, losing more ground to a potential rival from Novan Inc., because of continued manufacturing issues. There are no FDA-approved treatments for molluscum contagiosum, which leads to skin-colored or pink lesions and affects around 6 million people in the U.S. annually.