Activated-siRNA Microneedles for Pathological Scar Treatment

Currently, there is no definitive and effective treatment for pathological scars (keloids and hypertrophic scars), which is a significant part of the USD 17.94 billion (2018, CAGR of 9.9%) global scar therapy market. Patients inflicted with pathological scars suffer from physical, mental and social comorbidity, and have described themselves as “desperate for any treatment that will actually work”. The technology owner provides the world’s first clinically effective and pain-free treatment of pathological scars using topical siRNA microneedles. This TRL7 patent-pending technology comprises of a dissolvable microneedle containing siRNA nanoplex for for effective siRNA protection, cell-targeting and gene knockdown across the skin barrier. The microneedle provides painless transdermal delivery of gene-silencing siRNA to cellular environment, significantly diminishing the production of collagen and achieving scar reduction. The team has identified a strong customer segment comprising patients inflicted with pathological scars and individuals who want to prevent any form of scarring after surgery or skin trauma. The safety and effectiveness of the scar prevention siRNA microneedle patch are supported by animal and clinical studies. 

The technology owner is seeking collaboration and testbedding opportunities with partners who are interested to leverage on this technology for scar management. 

This patent-pending transdermal gene silencing technology overcomes three main bottlenecks to achieve effective and safe topical siRNA silencing:

1. Delivery across skin barrier,
2. Long-lasting,
3. Cell-targeting siRNA nanoplex into the skin

Currently, there is no clinically effective scar prevention product available in the market. This technology comprises of a dissolvable microneedle containing siRNA nanoplex for scar prevention. The microneedle provides painless transdermal delivery of gene-silencing siRNA to cellular environment, significantly diminishing the production of collagen and achieving scar reduction. This safe, pain-free and self-care application can be used as topical and localized treatment on scar sites post wounding / surgery.

The current innovation comprises of a patent-pending technology for effective transdermal gene silencing. It is a platform technology that can be customized with specific siRNAs to target a wide range of skin diseases, such as targeting the inflammatory and immunology pathways in eczema and psoriasis, and the prevention of pathological and surgical scars (as described in this innovation).

The total global scar therapy market is estimated to be USD21 Billion (2021), with a CAGR of 10% (2017-2026)

The current product will be the world’s first clinically effective scar prevention product.

Currently, silicone gel / sheets are commonly used for scar treatment, which are not effective. Treatment by steroid injection into scars is painful  and shows limited success with high rate of scar recurrence. The current siRNA-microneedle patch is effective because it directly addresses the root cause of excessive collagen production in scars, is pain-free and designed for patient self-care, which significantly improves treatment adherence.