The rare skin conditions affect approximately 500,000 people globally

Global non-profit organisation DEBRA Research and Queen Mary University of London have entered into a partnership aimed at advancing drug development for epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

The research collaboration will see DEBRA support Queen Mary in establishing the infrastructure to provide capabilities for testing of drug candidates in relevant preclinical models.

Approximately 500,000 people worldwide are affected by EB, a group of rare and painful genetic skin conditions that causes the skin to become extremely fragile, and blister and tear very easily.

The disorders currently have no cure, and treatments are limited to relieving symptoms and preventing complications, such as infection developing.

Christoph Coch, managing director at DEBRA Research, said: “Access to high-quality preclinical models remains one of the major bottlenecks in EB drug development.

“Via our partnership we hope to accelerate the path to effective therapies that can transform the lives of people living with EB.”

The agreement has been formalised with Emanuel Rognoni and Matthew Caley’s teams, based at the Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research at Queen Mary's Blizard Institute

Both research groups have significant experience in regenerative approaches and cellular mechanisms relevant to skin disorders. Rognoni’s team is evaluating how different fibroblast types contribute to processes such as healing, ageing and disease, while Caley’s group is looking at the basement membrane zone and its role in wound healing, ageing, cancer and EB.

Rognoni said: “This collaboration allows us to establish the infrastructure needed to offer our preclinical expertise on rare skin diseases to the EB research community, and to empower our future collaborators to develop new therapeutic strategies.”

Caley added: “This collaboration is an important opportunity to advance EB research and drive real impact.”