Gurtner Lab joins the Wake Forest MTEC AFIRM initiative to fund their burn wound clinical trial

Jan. 24, 2024

The Gurtner Lab is proud to announce that we have received a $2M subaward as a part of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) $40 Million initiative for AFIRM Consortium.

Our team has developed a focal adhesion kinase inhibitor (FAKI) that can be applied to severe burn wounds with or without split thickness skin graft to reduce fibrosis and enable scarless regeneration. This therapy can be simply unpackaged, soaked in saline, and used identically to standard-of-care dressings. Today, there are no standardized pharmacological options for patients with deep burn injuries to prevent exuberant fibrosis and contracture and there is an urgent need to develop effective therapies to alleviate scar formation and improve outcomes. 

With this grant money, we will complete work to get FDA IND approval and then start recruiting patients for a clinical study. 

Read more here: 

https://newsroom.wakehealth.edu/news-releases/2024/01/wake-forest-institute-for-regenerative-medicine-to-lead-40-million-initiative-for-afirm-consortium