CIF in EB: Repurposing treatments for EB

EB Research Network (EB Resnet), DEBRA Austria and our partners LifeArc, are holding an Expert round-table Workshop in May 2023 to consider opportunities for repurposing therapeutics from other inflammatory and fibrotic conditions, together with identifying potential unexploited intervention targets to prevent disease progression in CIF (chronic inflammation, fibrosis and cancer initiation) in Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). This will form part of a broader research-prioritization process for investment in therapy development for all types of EB. 

The goal is to refine and validate current thinking on core unmet medical needs, with experts in EB and overlapping research disciplines. The review will define the focus areas for a specific call for research proposals in the summer this year and a framework for research investment priorities in the near-to-medium term.

Despite promising advances in gene/cell therapies, at various stages in clinical development, that address the underlying causes of EB, the challenge in EB patients of inflammation linked to chronic wounds and consequent development of fibrosis and progression to cancer remains.  Intervention to prevent or slow CIF will improve daily quality of life, and longer-term health prospects for people with EB: CIF therapeutics will be important as standalone treatments, and adjuncts to gene/cell therapies. The goal of the current initiative is to build on outputs of earlier round tables examining the biology of wound healing and CIF, with emphasis on near-term clinical translation to create repursposed and novel therapies for CIF.

The Expert Workshop will be run in conjunction with a survey and dialogue with the wider EB research and clinical community to frame unmet medical needs that can be addressed by research.

More information soon on the Repurposing Therapies for EB Call's subpage.