Study Evaluates Unique Properties of Harbor MedTech’s Wound-Healing Technology

Interim study results recently presented support the wound-healing capabilities of Architect, Harbor MedTech’s first product using its BriDGE technology platform.
 
The study is being conducted to characterize the physical and biological properties, effect on wound healing, and mechanism of action of Architect, a stabilized, acellular collagen matrix. In contrast to other skin substitutes that require multiple applications, Architect was designed to heal chronic skin wounds faster—often with just one application.
 
“Architect is a new approach to chronic wound management, offering the potential to dramatically improve the patient experience while significantly reducing the cost of caring for these debilitating chronic skin wounds,” said Jerry Mezger, president and CEO of Harbor MedTech. “This important ongoing study reflects our commitment to expanding the science surrounding chronic wound care technology and helping clinicians improve outcomes for their patients.”
 
The ongoing research effort, led by Dr. Chandan K. Sen, executive director of Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Wound Center, involves a variety of in-vitro and animal studies. Interim results indicate that in a mouse model, wound perfusion resolves more quickly in Architect–treated wounds compared to the control-treated wounds, demonstrating that Architect-treated wounds healed faster. Architect–treated wounds also were completely re-epithelialized in about two weeks.
 
Investigators found that Architect promotes a robust early inflammatory response in wounds that resolves more quickly than in control-treated wounds. Additionally, there is an increase in recruitment of macrophages exposed to Architect that display up-regulated healing factors such as iNOS. Taken together, these findings help shed light on Architect’s unique ability to heal chronic skin wounds more quickly, often with a single application.
 
This interim data builds on preliminary results from the study that were presented at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Spring Conference, which showed that Architect could act as a possible scaffold/catalyst, creating a gradient of pro-healing cues for a variety of cells involved in wound healing. Findings indicated that cells may draw nourishment from the dressing itself, and that the dressing may discourage biofilm (bacteria) formation while empowering the body’s own immune mechanisms to activate the inflammatory phase of the healing process.
 
Chronic skin wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers and vascular ulcers remain a serious healthcare issue and cost billions of dollars a year. Healing these wounds in a timely manner is of paramount importance because the duration of ulceration correlates with increased rates of infection, amputation, and even death.
 
Harbor MedTech Inc. is a commercial-stage regenerative medicine company that has developed a new technology platform for biologic wound healing products. The company’s BriDGE platform is a major leap forward in tissue regeneration—offering exceptional performance, proven clinical results, and an excellent economic advantage. Architect, the company’s first BriDGE-based product, has been shown to heal chronic skin wounds with just one application—versus the multiple applications required with other collagen-based skin substitutes. Recent studies demonstrate that it may act by stimulating the patient’s own immune system to accelerate healing. Harbor MedTech was founded in 2010 and is based in Irvine, Calif.