Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: Development of readily forward-deployable therapeutic measures to enhance wound healing co

Description

Development of readily forward-deployable therapeutic measures to enhance wound healing could promote earlier restoration to health and return to duty. To address the Army need for a topical wound treatment with recombinant heat shock proteins (rHSPs) that can be applied to wounds to promote wound healing, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new topical soft tissue treatment (TOSTT) technology. The applied TOSTT releases rHSPs into the extracellular compartment of the wound where they come into direct contact with cellular components essential to the repair process. Repeat applications of TOSTT to the wound area sustain the elevated extracellular pools of HSPs and thereby exert a sustained effect. The innovation in the method of wound healing using rHSP application to the wound and the new topical formulation to effectively deliver the active ingredient will enable the TOSTT to directly and effectively enhance the wound healing process. As a result, this topical treatment is of high therapeutic efficacy and can be readily transitioned to clinical markets. In Phase I, POC will develop the formulation and demonstrate its efficacy in a pilot animal study. In Phase II, further therapeutic efficacy characterization of TOSTT will be performed with detailed animal studies.