WOXheal: Centaur Pharma’s drug for diabetic foot ulcer

The NCE has been developed with their German technology partner – CytoTools AG.

Said S D Sawant, Chairman and MD of Centaur Pharmaceuticals, “Fifteen years ago, we collaborated with CytoTools AG, Germany, who had this promising molecule for the treatment of Diabetic foot ulcers. We are incredibly happy to offer this ray of hope to people with Diabetic foot ulcer in India.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there will be 10 crore Indians with Diabetes in the next 10 years.

Among other complications of Diabetes, diabetic foot ulcer is the most common complication seen in India.

Apart from the fact that diabetic foot ulcers are non-healing, they not only hamper the quality of life of the patient but may also lead to complications such as wet gangrene, cellulitis, abscess and necrotizing fasciitis all leading to a total or partial foot amputation.

Data indicates that 25 percent of people with Diabetes, will develop a Diabetic Foot Ulcer in their lifetime.

One in five Diabetics, who are hospitalized due to severe foot infection, undergo a foot amputation affecting the livelihood of the family.

According to the company, a globally patented product, WOXheal topical solution, is effective in treating Diabetic foot ulcers.
WOXheal contains the NCE, Diperoxochloric acid, also called DPOCL.

WOXheal has dual mechanism of action, i.e. it has functional antibacterial action against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and it also promotes growth of fibroblast cells, thereby yielding complete wound closure.

According to the company, randomized clinical trials conducted across India in over 15 clinical trial centres on WOXheal elucidated that over 90 per cent patients with non-healing diabetic foot ulcer showed reduction in the size of the ulcer, and 75 per cent out of these patients achieved complete healing within six-eight weeks without any safety issue.

The data and outcome of the trial were submitted to the Indian Regulatory Authority and a manufacturing and marketing approval was granted to Centaur Pharmaceuticals for WOXheal.

Dr. Mark-Andre Freyberg, the co-innovator of WOXheal and the Chief Executive Officer of CytoTools AG, Germany, said "WOXheal has completed Phase III clinical trials in India and demonstrated rapid and effective wound healing in patients with Diabetic foot ulcers, a condition that is notoriously difficult to treat."

Dr Dirk Kaiser, the co-innovator of WOXheal and the Chief Scientific Officer of CytoTools AG, Germany said “WOXheal is a novel drug born out of Indo-German collaboration and it will change the way Diabetic Foot Ulcer management is done and will help prevent amputation.”

Dr Kaiser also said that phase III clinical trials were ongoing in Europe and the results from phase II clinical trials were similar to Indian clinical trials.

It is said that WOXheal will be readily available in the entire country by the end of the month.

Centaur Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1978, is India’s 34th largest pharmaceutical firm by prescriptions.

CytoTools AG is a German biotechnology company focused on translating fundamental biology research on the mechanisms of cell growth and programmed cell death into unique therapies that are designed to treat the cause of the disease rather than the symptoms.