The market for advanced wound care treatments is large and growing rapidly. International industry analysts estimate the global wound care market at USD $20.3b, and $2.6b in Australia. There is an urgent need to develop innovative approaches for improving healing outcomes. Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are the fastest growing area of drug development yet there are no antibody approaches for the treatment of wounds.
We have identified Flightless I (Flii) as a novel therapeutic target and have extensively characterized its role in the repair process. Flii is a cytoskeletal, multifunctional protein that regulates inflammation as well as cellular mobility, contraction, adhesion, proliferation and cytokine production. Attenuation of Flii improves healing through mechanisms including improved matrix deposition, reduced inflammation and a robust angiogenic response. We have developed first-in-class Flii neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (FnAbs) which when applied topically to wounds improves healing. Most recently, in a combined excisional wound/ulcerative colitis model, we have shown that systemic FnAb delivery simultaneously improves healing of external dermal wounds and internal mucosal lesions of the gut. In support, systemic FnAb also increased the survival of dystrophic coll7a1 knockout EB mice. Our data support a systemic FnAb antibody therapy as a promising approach for the treatment of people with EB which would significantly improve their quality of life. More broadly, a first-in-class antibody therapy could improve healing of other types of wounds including diabetes-related foot ulcers, burns and acute surgical wounds.