LL-37

The Challenge

Venous leg ulcers are hard-to-heal wounds. An important factor in the development of venous leg ulcers is increased blood pressure in the tissues caused by impaired function of the veins. The result is leg swelling and skin damage, which eventually can lead to the formation of ulcers. The main current treatment of leg ulcers is compression bandaging, which results in healing in about 50 % of patients within 5 months¹. In some cases, the ulcers fail to heal for years.

Pergamum's Solution

LL-37 is a multifunctional antimicrobial peptide, structurally derived from the C-terminal portion of human cathelicidin antimicrobial protein 18 (hCAP18). LL-37 is rapidly produced in damaged skin and is an important component in normal wound healing. The peptide has beneficial effects on various parts of the healing process, by affecting the formation of new skin cells and blood vessels.  Reduced quantities of LL-37 are produced in venous leg ulcer tissue. Therefore, the addition of synthetic LL-37 has the potential to promote healing of these ulcers. Preclinical studies in diabetic mice have shown that local treatment with LL-37 resulted in significantly improved wound healing.

Competitive Advantages

LL-37 has unique wound healing and antibacterial effects not offered by any available treatments.  LL-37 is formulated as a viscous solution. This formulation offers the following advantages that are essential in clinical practice:

• Controlled dose
• Simple and rapid application
• Compatible with standard dressings
• Low production costs

The Market

Between 13 and 18 million patients have hard-to-heal ulcers in the developed world². Approximately two out of 1,000 individuals have chronic leg ulcers below the knee³ with disease duration of at least six weeks⁴. Venous leg ulcers constitute the largest segment among these, approximately 40-60 %³. Additional segments include arterial, diabetic, and multifactorial ulcers, each of which represents 10–20 % of the total incidence. Total sales of advanced wound healing products exceed EUR 5bn and are growing by approximately 10% annually³.