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news.Clinuvel, a Melbourne-based drug developer, has received US patent no 7,745,408 for its drug Scenesse (afamelanotide) to protect fair skinned individuals from ultraviolet (UV) if they possess a genetic variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R).
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Clinuvel claimed that its Scenesse is delivered as a subcutaneous injectable implant, works by mimicking the body’s tanning response without the need for UV exposure which causes damage to the skin.
The clinical trials of the drug demonstrated that it provides medicinal photoprotection through increased melanogenesis (melanin activation) in fair-skinned patients diagnosed with UV and light related skin disorders.
Clinuvel said that trials are in progress to demonstrate Scenesse’s ability to protect against photodamage in porphyria patients and in organ transplant patients who are especially prone to a high rate of skin cancer due to the administered immunosuppressive drugs (anti organ rejection). In these patients, the lifelong use of these drugs and UV exposure pose a very high risk to develop multiple skin cancers.
Philippe Wolgen, CEO of Clinuvel, said: “By gradually demonstrating that Scenesse is able to provide photoprotection in disease symptoms acutely provoked by UV and light, we are approaching our objective of demonstrating the drug’s ability to reduce the longer term impact of UV in patients prone to skin cancer.”
Hank Agersborg, chief scientific officer of Clinuvel, said: “In the early nineties, the National Cancer Institute in the US provided a grant to develop melanocortins in melanoma prevention.
“Our US patent grant acknowledges the controlled use of Scenesse as a preventative therapeutic in patients with MC1R deficiency and at high risk of photodamage and, in time, skin cancer.”