Advances in the treatment of chronic wounds: a patent review

Introduction: About 2% of the Western world population suffer from chronic wounds, resulting from underlying disorders (e.g., diabetes, excessive pressure, vascular insufficiencies and vasculitis), with a significant adverse effect on Quality of Life. Despite high incidence and economic burden, management of chronic wounds is still far from effective and novel therapies are in urgent need. Wound healing is a dynamic process of transient expression, function and clearance of mediators, enzymes and cell types. Failure to initiate, terminate or regulate leads to pathologic wound healing. Areas covered: The present review discusses patents of the seven most promising classes of biological agents, mostly published in 2009 - 2014 (CYP11B1 inhibitors, peptide growth factors, prolyI-4-hydroxylase and matrix metallo-proteinase inhibitors, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, elastase and connexin43 inhibitors). Relevant information from peer-reviewed journals is also presented. Expert Opinion: The aforementioned biological agents have different mechanisms of action, and considering the multifactorial pathogenesis of chronic wounds, they hold promise in treating chronic wounds. However, as administration of a certain biological agent may be beneficial in an early phase, it may slow down wound healing in a later phase. Basic and clinical research on chronic wound healing should therefore investigate the efficacy of these agents, alone and in concert, during the consecutive phases of wound healing.