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Wound healing research spawns biotech co. A new wound-healing technology created by Rob Gourdie, Ph.D., MUSC professor of cell biology and Clemson professor of bioengineering, is being tested for its ability to promote faster healing, reduce scarring, and restore more normal looking skin. This research spawned a new biotechnology company in Charleston in order to develop and ultimately market the technology.   The skin’s wound repair process is initiated immediately after injury and involves inflammation, proliferation, scar production, and tissue remodeling. One of the common complications in wound healing is excessive scarring. Gourdie and his colleagues developed a bioengineered peptide based on a naturally occurring protein in the body that helps regulate communication between cells. This peptide is being studied for an ability to accelerate wound healing and tissue regeneration with significantly reduced scarring in laboratory animal tests.   Co-inventor Gautam Ghatnekar, DVM, Ph.D., MUSC post-doctoral fellow, and Jane Jourdan, manager of Gourdie’s MUSC laboratory, were also instrumental in the development of this new technology. “Some animals have their wounds heal with apparently no scar tissue at all,” Ghatnekar said.   “This peptide has tremendous potential in all body situations that involve healing because it regulates and modifies intercellular communication at the site of the wound,” Gourdie said. “It’s a balance shift from scarring to regeneration. What person hasn’t seen a lizard regenerate its tail and thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be neat to restore an injured human body part like that?’”   In order to make the technology available for human use, Gourdie and Ghatnekar co-founded First String Research (FSR), as chief scientific officer and president of the company, respectively. FSR is a Charleston-based biotechnology, tissue engineering, and development company located in the S.C. Research Authority/Trident Research Center. With the addition of Don Olson as chief executive officer, the company is moving forward with large animal trials to continue to evaluate the technology. Involving pigs, these  tests are very important, as pig skin is similar to human skin. Further down the road, human trials will be required to determine the peptide’s efficiency in humans and its introduction into the marketplace for use by physicians.   “In two to three years, we’d like to have it in the hands of plastic surgeons, not just for cosmetic purposes, but also for burns and diabetic wounds,” Olson said.   Future use could also include organ tissue regeneration, and in fact, the peptide is already being tested in heart injury experiments in Gourdie’s laboratory at MUSC.   FSR recently negotiated a license agreement with Grant Brewer of the MUSC Foundation of Research Development (FRD), headed by Bob Pozner, Ph.D. “Former MUSC Foundation for Research Development director Ken Roozen was also very supportive of the development of our technology during the initial stages following invention. Ken also linked Gautam and me with the business expertise of Don Olson, and Bob’s professional handling of the FRD has been equally impressive,” Gourdie said. “Dr. Pozner’s continued efforts to bring Charleston entrepreneurs together has been extremely beneficial to FSR as it seeks new resources to move forward,” Ghatnekar added.   Currently, there are no mechanistically based products approved by the FDA that can reduce or eliminate scarring and promote wound regeneration.     Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778, ext. 201.