Pharmaxis announced that the clinical trial of its topical anti scarring drug PXS6302 has completed recruitment with the last of the 42 patients dosed earlier this week. The study is being conducted by the University of Western Australia (UWA) under the leadership of Professor Fiona Wood AM, Director of the Western Australia Burns Service. The trial, known as SOLARIA2, is in 50 adult patients treated for scars of greater than one year in age and over 10cm2 in size for a period of 3 months.

The first 8 patients treated were on active drug whereas the following 42 were randomised 1:1 to active or placebo. Preliminary results, released in September from the open label phase with 8 patients treated for up to 3 months on active drug, showed a high level of inhibition of enzymes and changes in biomarkers that are implicated in scarring with Professor Fiona Wood commenting. Final results are scheduled for second quarter 2023 when the company hopes to confirm an acceptable safety profile, improvements in scar appearance and function for patients on active drug relative to those treated with placebo, and evidence that LOX inhibition is modifying scar tissue at a structural and biochemical level.

PXS6302 was discovered by the company research team at the company's Frenchs Forest laboratories. The project was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) development grant which funded extensive preclinical work executed in collaboration with UWA. The ongoing clinical trial in patients with established scars and the planned follow up study will both be conducted at the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth with financial support from the company.