Home » Health » Atopy, which is more painful when dry … Active development of “stem cell therapy”

Atopy, which is more painful when dry … Active development of “stem cell therapy”

Fall, when the cool breeze blows, is a great season to enjoy outdoor activities, but there are some people who want to avoid it. These are patients with atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease caused by multiple factors such as genetics, environment, immunological abnormalities and skin barrier dysfunction. In particular, environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, exposure to irritants, allergens and stress greatly influence the onset or worsening of the symptoms of atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis, which was primarily reserved for infants and adolescents, is on the rise especially in adult patients. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of atopic dermatitis patients in Korea has increased from 933,797 in 2017 to 980,750 in 2021 and more than 50,000 in five years, 523,840 per year, an increase of approximately 120,000 in five years.

Unlike pediatric patients, adult patients have symptoms concentrated around the eyes and mouth, neck and ears, causing difficulties in interpersonal relationships and social life. The average disease duration in adult patients is 23-28 years, and 20-46% of them are in moderate to severe conditions. In particular, when atopic dermatitis becomes severe, rashes appear all over the body and symptoms such as swelling or redness of the skin, severe itching, dry skin, cracking and scabs and scabs may be accompanied.

For this reason, various clinical trials of new mechanisms other than existing treatments are ongoing. As of September, there were 11 clinically approved articles for the treatment of atopic dermatitis registered with the Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines in Korea over the past three years. The most notable is stem cell treatment. Among them, the fastest is Kang Stem Biotech’s “Pure Stem-ADZoo”. Phase 3 clinical trials with allogeneic cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells are ongoing. This drug is a mechanism for restoring the homeostasis of the impaired immune system. Unlike conventional therapies that suppress immune antibodies, when stem cells are grown and injected outside the body, they recognize inflammatory cytokines and antigens present in the inflammatory environment and secrete various immunomodulators. Through this, it improves the symptoms of atopic dermatitis by regulating the activity of various types of immune cells involved in the induction of atopic dermatitis.

According to Kangstem Biotech, the interim results from the long-term follow-up study of the first Phase 3 clinical trial for atopic dermatitis, which ended in 2019, confirmed safety and efficacy for up to 3 years of administration. Furthermore, no serious adverse events such as death or malignancy have been confirmed for up to 3 years after administration of the drug under consideration. EASI-50 (50% improvement in eczema severity index) was achieved at 58% (40 of 69 patients) at 1 year, 66% (34 of 50) at 2 years and 75% (out of 52) at 3 years 39 people).

SCM Life Science and EHL Bio are also developing a treatment for atopic dermatitis using stem cells. SCM Life Sciences is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial cultivating stem cells with its original technology, while EHL Bio is developing a treatment for intravenous administration using fat stem cells. Since stem cells are cells naturally present in our body, they have the advantage of regenerating damaged organs or tissues and of having fewer side effects.

[이상민 매경헬스 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

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