Gene therapy for diabetic foot ulcers: Interim analysis of a randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 study of VM202 (ENGENSIS), a plasmid DNA expressing two isoforms of human hepatocyte growth factor.

To evaluate the status of a 7-month phase 3 study conducted to test the effect of intramuscular injections of VM202 (ENGENSIS), a plasmid DNA encoding human hepatocyte growth factor, into the calf muscles of chronic nonhealing diabetic foot ulcers with concomitant peripheral artery disease. The phase 3 study, originally aimed to recruit 300 subjects, was discontinued because of slow patient recruitment. An unprespecified interim analysis was performed for the 44 subjects enrolled to assess the status and determine the future direction. Statistical analyses were carried out for the Intent-to-Treat (ITT) population and separately for subjects with neuroischemic ulcers, using a t-test and Fisher's exact test. A logistic regression analysis was also conducted. VM202 was safe and potentially should have benefits. In the ITT population (N = 44), there was a positive trend toward closure in the VM202 group from 3 to 6 months but with no statistical significance. Levels of ulcer volume or area were found to be highly skewed between the placebo and VM202 groups. Forty subjects, excluding four outliers in both arms, showed significant wound-closing effects at month 6 (P = .0457). In 23 patients with neuroischemic ulcers, the percentage of subjects reaching complete ulcer closure was significantly higher in the VM202 group at months 3, 4, and 5 (P = .0391, .0391, and .0361). When two outliers were excluded, a significant difference was evident in months 3, 4, 5, and 6 (P = .03 for all points). A potentially clinically meaningful 0.15 increase in Ankle-Brachial Index was observed in the VM202 group at day 210 in the ITT population (P = .0776). Intramuscular injections of VM202 plasmid DNA to calf muscle may have promise in the treatment of chronic neuroischemic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Given the safety profile and potential healing effects, continuing a larger DFU study is warranted with modifications of the current protocol and expansion of enrolling sites.

An open-label, proof-of-concept study assessing the effects of bromelain-based enzymatic debridement on biofilm and microbial loads in patients with venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.

BACKGROUND: Most chronic wounds contain biofilm, and debridement remains the centerpiece of treatment. Enzymatic debridement is an effective tool in removing nonviable tissue, however, there is little evidence supporting its effect on planktonic and biofilm bacteria. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effects of a novel BBD agent on removal of nonviable tissue, biofilm, and microbial loads in patients with chronic ulcers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with DFU or VLU were treated with up to 8 once-daily applications of BBD and then followed for an additional 2 weeks. Punch biopsy specimens were collected and analyzed for biofilm, and fluorescence imaging was used to measure bacterial load. RESULTS: Ten patients completed treatment, and 7 achieved complete debridement within a median of 2 applications (range, 2-8). By the end of the 2-week follow-up period, the mean ± SD reduction in wound area was 35% ± 38. In all 6 patients who were positive for biofilm at baseline, the biofilm was reduced to single individual or no detected microorganisms by the end of treatment. Red fluorescence for Staphylococcus aureus decreased from a mean of 1.09 cm² ± 0.58 before treatment to 0.39 cm² ± 0.25 after treatment. BBD was safe and well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Preliminary data suggest that BBD is safe and that it can be used to effectively debride DFU and VLU, reduce biofilm and planktonic bacterial load, and promote reduction in wound size.

A Multinational, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Cyclical Topical Wound Oxygen (TWO2) Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers: The TWO2 Study.

OBJECTIVE: Topical oxygen has been used for the treatment of chronic wounds for more than 50 years. Its effectiveness remains disputed due to the limited number of robust high-quality investigations. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of multimodality cyclical pressure Topical Wound Oxygen (TWO2) home care therapy in healing refractory diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) that had failed to heal with standard of care (SOC) alone. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with diabetes and chronic DFUs were randomized (double-blind) to either active TWO2 therapy or sham control therapy-both in addition to optimal SOC. The primary outcome was the percentage of ulcers in each group achieving 100% healing at 12 weeks. A group sequential design was used for the study with three predetermined analyses and hard stopping rules once 73, 146, and ultimately 220 patients completed the 12-week treatment phase. RESULTS: At the first analysis point, the active TWO2 arm was found to be superior to the sham arm, with a closure rate of 41.7% compared with 13.5%. This difference in outcome produced an odds ratio (OR) of 4.57 (97.8% CI 1.19, 17.57), P = 0.010. After adjustment for University of Texas Classification (UTC) ulcer grade, the OR increased to 6.00 (97.8% CI 1.44, 24.93), P = 0.004. Cox proportional hazards modeling, also after adjustment for UTC grade, demonstrated >4.5 times the likelihood to heal DFUs over 12 weeks compared with the sham arm with a hazard ratio of 4.66 (97.8% CI 1.36, 15.98), P = 0.004. At 12 months postenrollment, 56% of active arm ulcers were closed compared with 27% of the sham arm ulcers (P = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: This sham-controlled, double-blind randomized controlled trial demonstrates that, at both 12 weeks and 12 months, adjunctive cyclical pressurized TWO2 therapy was superior in healing chronic DFUs compared with optimal SOC alone.

A prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of a single-use negative pressure wound therapy system, compared to traditional negative pressure wound therapy in the treatment of chronic ulcers of the lower extremities.

Multicenter, phase-4, randomized, comparative-efficacy study in patients with VLUs or DFUs comparing for noninferiority the percentage change in target ulcer dimensions (area, depth, and volume) a single-use negative pressure wound therapy (s-NPWT) system versus traditional NPWT (t-NPWT) over a 12-week treatment period or up to confirmed healing. Baseline values were taken at the randomization visit. Randomized by wound type and size, 164 patients with non-infected DFUs and VLUs were included. The ITT population was composed of 161 patients (101 with VLUs, 60 with DFUs) and 115 patients completed follow-up (64 in the s-NPWT group and 51 in the t-NPWT group) (PP population). The average age for all patients was 61.5 years, 36.6% were women, and treatment groups were statistically similar at baseline. Primary endpoint analyses on wound area reduction demonstrated statistically significant reduction in favor of s-NPWT (p = 0.003) for the PP population and for the ITT population (p < 0.001). Changes in wound depth (p = 0.018) and volume (p = 0.013) were also better with s-NPWT. Faster wound closure was observed with s-NPWT (Cox Proportional Hazards ratio (0.493 (0.273, 0.891); p = 0.019) in the ITT population. Wound closure occurred in 45% of patients in the s-NPWT group vs. 22.2% of patients in the t-NPWT group (p = 0.002). Median estimate of the time to wound closure was 77 days for s-NPWT. No estimate could be provided for t-NPWT due to the low number of patients achieving wound closure. Device-related AEs were more frequent in the t-NPWT group (41 AEs from 29 patients) than in the s-NPWT group (16 AEs from 12 patients). The s-NPWT system met noninferiority and achieved statistical superiority vs. t-NPWT in terms of wound progression toward healing over the treatment period. When NPWT is being considered for the management of challenging VLUs and DFUs, s-NPWT should be considered a first choice over other types of NPWT.

A multicentre prospective randomised controlled comparative parallel study of dehydrated human umbilical cord (EpiCord) allograft for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

The aim of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of dehydrated human umbilical cord allograft (EpiCord) compared with alginate wound dressings for the treatment of chronic, non-healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). A multicentre, randomised, controlled, clinical trial was conducted at 11 centres in the United States. Individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes presenting with a 1 to 15 cm2 ulcer located below the ankle that had been persisting for at least 30 days were eligible for the 14-day study run-in phase. After 14 days of weekly debridement, moist wound therapy, and off-loading, those with ≤30% wound area reduction post-debridement (n = 155) were randomised in a 2:1 ratio to receive a weekly application of EpiCord (n = 101) or standardised therapy with alginate wound dressing, non-adherent silicone dressing, absorbent non-adhesive hydropolymer secondary dressing, and gauze bandage roll (n = 54). All wounds continued to have appropriate off-loading during the treatment phase of the study. Study visits were conducted for 12 weeks. At each weekly visit, the DFU was cleaned and debrided as necessary, with the wound photographed pre- and post-debridement and measured before the application of treatment group-specific dressings. A follow-up visit was performed at week 16. The primary study end point was the percentage of complete closure of the study ulcer within 12 weeks, as assessed by Silhouette camera. Data for randomised subjects meeting study inclusion criteria were included in an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis. Additional analysis was conducted on a group of subjects (n = 134) who completed the study per protocol (PP) (EpiCord, n = 86, alginate, n = 48) and for those subjects receiving adequate debridement (EpiCord, n = 67, alginate, n = 40). ITT analysis showed that DFUs treated with EpiCord were more likely to heal within 12 weeks than those receiving alginate dressings, 71 of 101 (70%) vs 26 of 54 (48%) for EpiCord and alginate dressings, respectively, P = 0.0089. Healing rates at 12 weeks for subjects treated PP were 70 of 86 (81%) for EpiCord-treated and 26 of 48 (54%) for alginate-treated DFUs, P = 0.0013. For those DFUs that received adequate debridement (n = 107, ITT population), 64 of 67 (96%) of the EpiCord-treated ulcers healed completely within 12 weeks, compared with 26 of 40 (65%) of adequately debrided alginate-treated ulcers, P < 0.0001. Seventy-five subjects experienced at least one adverse event, with a total of 160 adverse events recorded. There were no adverse events related to either EpiCord or alginate dressings. These results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of EpiCord as a treatment for non-healing DFUs.

A multicenter, randomized, single-blind trial comparing the efficacy of viable cryopreserved placental membrane to human fibroblast-derived dermal substitute for the treatment of chronic diabetic foot ulcers.

Randomized controlled clinical trials, the gold standard to determine treatment efficacy against control, have demonstrated advantages of skin substitutes for the treatment of chronic diabetic foot ulcers in comparison to standard of care. However, randomized controlled clinical trials comparing efficacy between two or more skin substitutes are very limited. With growing numbers of new skin substitutes, such studies are essential for treatment and policy-making decisions by wound care providers and payers. In this study, we analyzed clinical outcomes and product cost between a viable cryopreserved placental membrane (vCPM) and a human fibroblast-derived dermal substitute (hFDS) for the treatment of chronic diabetic foot ulcers in a prospective, multicenter, single-blind study. The outcomes of 62 patients were analyzed: 31 patients in the vCPM treatment group and 31 patients in the hFDS treatment group. Utilizing a non-inferiority trial design and the established treatment regimen of 8 applications for hFDS, we demonstrated that vCPM was not inferior to hFDS for the proportion of patients achieving complete wound closure (9.68, 90% CI: [10.67, 28.94]). However, preliminary findings show that vCPM may have better outcomes for wounds ≤ 5 cm2 : 81.3% (13/16) of wounds in the vCPM group vs. 37.5% (6/16) of wounds in the hFDS group reached complete closure at the end of treatment (p = 0.0118). A preliminary product cost analysis for wounds ≤ 5 cm2 may show significant savings for patients treated with vCPM. Average per-patient costs during the course of treatment were $3,846 and $7,968 (p < 0.0001) for vCPM and hFDS patients, respectively. These results may be used as guidance to wound care providers and payers.

Phase 3 evaluation of HP802-247 in the treatment of chronic venous leg ulcers.

In 2012 we reported promising results from a phase 2 clinical trial of HP802-247, a novel spray-applied investigational treatment for chronic venous leg ulcers consisting of human, allogeneic fibroblasts and keratinocytes. We now describe phase 3 clinical testing of HP802-247, its failure to detect efficacy, and subsequent investigation into the root causes of the failure. Two randomized, controlled trials enrolled a total of 673 adult outpatients at 96 centers in North America and Europe. The primary endpoint was the proportion of ulcers with confirmed closure at the end of 12 weeks of treatment. An investigation into the root cause for the failure of HP802-247 to show efficacy in these two phase 3 trials was initiated immediately following the initial review of the North American trial results. Four hundred twenty-one patients were enrolled in the North American (HP802-247, 211; Vehicle 210) and 252 in the European (HP802-247, 131; Vehicle 121) trials. No difference in proportion of closed ulcers at week 12 was observed between treatment groups for either the North American (HP802-247, 61.1%; Vehicle 60.0%; p = 0.5896) or the European (HP802-247, 47.0%; Vehicle 50.0%; p = 0.5348) trials. Thorough investigation found no likelihood that design or execution of the trials contributed to the failure. Variability over time during the trials in the clinical response implicated the quality of the cells comprising HP802-247. Concordance between the two separate, randomized, controlled trials with distinct, nonoverlapping investigative sites and independent monitoring teams renders the possibility of a Type II error vanishingly small and provides strong credibility for the unexpected lack of efficacy observed. The most likely causative factors for the efficacy failure in phase 3 was phenotypic change in the cells (primarily keratinocytes) leading to batch to batch variability due to the age of the cell banks.

A clinical trial of Integra Template for diabetic foot ulcer treatment.

Individuals with diabetes mellitus are at an increased risk of developing a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of Integra Dermal Regeneration Template (IDRT) for the treatment of nonhealing DFUs. The Foot Ulcer New Dermal Replacement Study was a multicenter, randomized, controlled, parallel group clinical trial conducted under an Investigational Device Exemption. Thirty-two sites enrolled and randomized 307 subjects with at least one DFU. Consented patients were entered into the 14-day run-in phase where they were treated with the standard of care (0.9% sodium chloride gel) plus a secondary dressing and an offloading/protective device. Patients with less than 30% reepithelialization of the study ulcer after the run-in phase were randomized into the treatment phase. The subjects were randomized to the control treatment group (0.9% sodium chloride gel; n = 153) or the active treatment group (IDRT, n = 154). The treatment phase was 16 weeks or until confirmation of complete wound closure (100% reepithelialization of the wound surface), whichever occurred first. Following the treatment phase, all subjects were followed for 12 weeks. Complete DFU closure during the treatment phase was significantly greater with IDRT treatment (51%) than control treatment (32%; p = 0.001) at sixteen weeks. The median time to complete DFU closure was 43 days for IDRT subjects and 78 days for control subjects in wounds that healed. The rate of wound size reduction was 7.2% per week for IDRT subjects vs. 4.8% per week for control subjects (p = 0.012). For the treatment of chronic DFUs, IDRT treatment decreased the time to complete wound closure, increased the rate of wound closure, improved components of quality of life and had less adverse events compared with the standard of care treatment. IDRT could greatly enhance the treatment of nonhealing DFUs.

Initial clinical assessment of a novel wound management system: a case series.

The importance of exudate management for maintaining local moisture balance and avoiding maceration in the chronic wound environment is well established. The authors performed the initial clinical testing of a novel wound management system, Sepaderm (Aalnex, Inc, Irvine, California), designed to vertically wick and sequester excess exudate away from wound/periwound tissues to promote a healthy wound environment. In this series of 14 patients with lower-extremity chronic venous leg and diabetic foot ulcers, the 3-component system was well tolerated and demonstrated the ability to prevent exudate leakage onto periwound tissue and reduce existing pain and itching. All ulcers lasting 1.2 to 360 months were previously treated with standard therapies, including human cell-derived skin substitutes in some of the patients. After treatment with the new system for 7 to 174 days, 8 patients had various degrees of wound closure, ranging from 44% to 100%. The 6 patients who failed to show wound closure were treated with the new system for an average of 5.7 days, but demonstrated other clinical benefits. Future studies in larger patient populations with quantitative wound closure assessments, as well as measurements of exudate, periwound maceration, and pain management, are needed.

Formulated collagen gel accelerates healing rate immediately after application in patients with diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers.

We assessed the safety and efficacy of Formulated Collagen Gel (FCG) alone and with Ad5PDGF-B (GAM501) compared with Standard of Care (SOC) in patients with 1.5-10.0 cm(2) chronic diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers that healed <30% during Run-in. Wound size was assessed by planimetry of acetate tracings and photographs in 124 patients. Comparison of data sets revealed that acetate tracings frequently overestimated areas at some sites. For per-protocol analysis, 113 patients qualified using acetate tracings but only 82 qualified using photographs. Prior animal studies suggested that collagen alone would have little effect on healing and would serve as a negative control. Surprisingly trends for increased incidence of complete closure were observed for both GAM501 (41%) and FCG (45%) vs. Standard of Care (31%). By photographic data, Standard of Care had no significant effect on change in wound radius (mm/week) from during Run-in to Week 1 (-0.06 ± 0.32 to 0.78 ± 1.53, p=ns) but both FCG (-0.08 ± 0.61 to 1.97 ± 1.77, p<0.002) and GAM501 (-0.02 ± 0.58 to 1.46 ± 1.37, p<0.002) significantly increased healing rates that gradually declined over subsequent weeks. Both GAM501 and FCG appeared to be safe and well tolerated, and alternate dosing schedules hold promise to improve overall complete wound closure in adequately powered trials.