Polymertronics prepares light plaster for clinical trials

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 10 Sep 2009

A wearable light treatment for skin cancer will enter clinical trials in Europe in early 2010.

According to Stephen Clemmet, co-founder of Polymertronics - the company developing the 'plaster' - the first device to undergo clinical trials will use LED lights.

An OLED version, which Clemmet's team is working on, will be ready for trialling at a later stage.

The light plaster is designed as part of a treatment for skin cancer called photodynamic therapy (PDT), where cream is applied to skin and activated by light to destroy cancerous or pre-cancerous cells.

While the use of PDT to treat skin cancer by hospitals and clinics is on the increase, specialised, often costly, fixed lamps are used.

A light-emitting plaster or bandage for administering PDT cures would enable hospitals and clinics to treat patients more efficiently and comfortably.

The wearable LED plaster, developed using off-the-shelf lights, may only need to undergo a phase one clinical trial, because it will be used with commercialised drugs.

The company has also signed an agreement with a large global chemicals company that will supply it with materials for engineering an OLED light plaster.

Understanding the market

In order to help the company understand the healthcare market better, Polymertronics recently hired a new team member who has previously worked in the medical industry.

Clemmet has also been in touch with several UK cancer charities and hospitals to glean information: 'I approached them to discuss PDT and to avoid developing something that there is no clear need or demand for.'

Recently Clemmet joined the board of a new UK cancer charity called Killing Cancer as a technical adviser.

Despite government warnings and increased information on the illness, skin cancer is a rising disease with millions of reported cases each year.

Several pharmaceutical companies have commercialised PDT creams and medication for skin and other cancers. One of these is Photocure, founded by the Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation. As well as supplying two core drugs and a proprietary lamp, the company is also researching and monitoring the next generation of PDT treatment breakthroughs.