News

David Curtis Glebe, a retired 64-year-old public prosecutor now living in Millsboro, Delaware, knows he’s lucky to be alive. In mid-2013, while in Arizona, Glebe was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer (PNET) — the same disease that killed Apple’s founder and CEO Steve Jobs. After three years of progress…

A Phase 2/3 clinical trial testing diacerein in the form of a cream applied to the skin showed that it could significantly reduce the number of blisters in patients with epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS). No treatment-related adverse events were reported. The results of the small Austrian trial were published…

Japanese physicians have reported a newly discovered mutation in the COL7A1 gene, called c.6885_6898del14, which resulted in the development of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) in a child. The results were published in a study titled, “A case of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa with a novel c.6885_6898del14…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow pediatric patients to enroll in the Phase 2 segment of an ongoing trial to evaluate FCX-007 as a potential gene therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), Fibrocell Science recently announced. The FDA’s approval follows positive results seen in the first phase of the…

This week marks the launch of the “7,000 Mile Rare Movement,” a nationwide effort to raise money for research into the 7,000 known rare diseases that afflict at least 30 million Americans. The campaign kicks off Feb. 1 and culminates with Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28. Organized by…

Abeona Therapeutics‘ EB-101, a gene therapy in development for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), has received the regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The RMAT designation is attributed to promising “regenerative” therapies — cell therapies, tissue engineering, or cell and…

A rare case of hair loss associated with PLEC gene mutation and epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy was reported for the second time in a patient from the Azores. The case report was published in the journal BMC Dermatology. Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is caused by…

A study from Spain has raised the possibility that the development of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) could be attributable to additional factors besides mutations in the COL7A1 gene. Researchers reached this conclusion after studying three unrelated patients with different forms of DEB who had two identical mutations in the COL7A1 gene.

Krystal Biotech was recently granted a U.S. patent covering its herpes simplex viral vectors and related gene therapy to be used in preventive, palliative (providing relief), or therapeutic treatment for wounds and skin disorders, particularly dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Patent No. 9,877,990 was issued by the U.S. Patent Office. The company stated in…

Data from a Phase 2 trial validated a new five-point Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) scale for the clinical evaluation of patients with epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), the scale’s developer, Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals (CCP), announced. In September 2017, CCP presented the five-point IGA scale that defines skin symptoms as clear, almost…

Skin colonization by bacteria resistant to Bactroban (mupirocin) is frequent among patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), and may be due to home skin care practices, according to researchers at Columbia University. The finding was reported in the study “Wound culture isolated antibiograms and caregiver-reported skin…

The systemic administration of collagen VII protein can reduce bacteria in the skin of mice with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), according to a report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, “Impaired lymphoid extracellular matrix impedes antibacterial immunity in epidermolysis bullosa,” showed that…