CUTISS exhibiting at Arab Health 2023 to introduce its innovations in skin tissue engineering and skin pigmentation in the Middle East

CUTISS is a Swiss clinical-stage life sciences company focused on regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and skin pigmentation. The company is exhibiting at Arab Health 2023 to meet with potential investors, explore manufacturing and distribution partnership opportunities, and establish contacts with regional hospitals, clinics, and dermatology specialists.

Dr Daniela Marino, CEO and co-founder at CUTISS, said: “The Arab Health 2023 conference is the ideal forum to introduce CUTISS to the region. In the Middle East there is a particular interest and passion for aesthetics and skin, along with unmet and growing needs in skin surgery and dermatology. We are engaging with regional and international healthcare stakeholders, as well as potential investors.”

Skin pigmentation disorders and Vitiligo: commercialization of VitiCell®

CUTISS will soon start the commercialization of VitiCell®, a CE marked medical device for the treatment of skin pigmentation disorders, developed by IBSA Pharma.

CUTISS is seeking partners for the manufacturing and distribution of the VitiCell® kit in the Middle East, as well as contact with dermatologists and skin specialists in the region who will be the end users of this device.

Vitiligo is the most common skin pigmentation disorder is. It is an autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1-2% of the global population, resulting in discolored skin lesions in different areas of the body.

Patients with stable Vitiligo and post-traumatic scars are eligible for treatment with VitiCell®, which can be done in an out-patient setting by a medical professional, be it at a hospital, private clinic or a dermatologist’s cabinet.

CUTISS will commence sales of VitiCell® in the European Union (EU) first, before expanding to markets around the world.

Personalized skin graft denovoSkin™: Phase 2 clinical outcome data in severe burn patients

Burns are a global public health problem and major cause of death and disability globally. They account for an estimated 180,000 deaths annually1. Children represent a large proportion of people with burn injuries globally and often sustain major injuries that require critical and surgical intervention2. 

CUTISS’s lead product denovoSkin™ can take skin surgery to the next level and revolutionize current treatments for severe skin injuries, such as deep burns, in children and adults.

“Our aim is to give patients back more of their own skin to make them well again,” stated Dr Daniela Marino, CEO and co-founder at CUTISS.

denovoSkin™ is a personalized human skin graft that is bioengineered in large quantities starting from a small, post stamp-sized piece of a patient’s healthy skin. It promises to grow with the patient, limit scarring and drastically reduce the number of follow up corrective surgeries.

denovoSkin™ is in Phase 2 efficacy clinical trials in the EU. Outcome data in burn patients will become available in the first half of 2023, after which CUTISS will continue the clinical development program in the EU and abroad.

To date, severe burn patients have also been treated on a compassionate basis with scientific reports published demonstrating proof of concept, safety and preliminary efficacy.

CUTISS is actively seeking support from investors and local healthcare authorities and bodies in the Middle East to accelerate the approval of denovoSkin™ for severe burns and reconstructive surgery.

Over the last three decades in the Middle East there have been an estimated 18 million burns and over 300 thousand deaths, a mortality rate that is worse than the global average3. Burn injuries and deaths have remained a significant challenge in the Middle East due to ongoing conflicts, economic crises, social disparities, and dangerous living conditions.

Beyond the immediate burn care and treatment, the physical and psychosocial impacts of severe burns are long lasting, for example due to visible scarring.

World’s first machine to produce human skin grafts

CUTISS has developed the world’s first automated machine to produce the personalized skin tissue graft denovoSkin™ for adults and children with severe skin injuries. The denovoCast machine, unveiled in June 2021, automates the manufacturing and production process of denovoSkin™.

Once the denovoCast machine reaches clinical readiness, CUTISS plans to make it available to hospitals and burn centers
around the world.

The Middle East has reputable hospitals and burns treatment clinics, and therefore a high potential to become a hub for the automated production of denovoSkin™ for the region and extending to Asia.

“Every year around the world over 11 million people suffer from severe burns which require surgery. Skin is our largest organ and our denovoCast machine has the potential to produce enough skin quickly and affordably to treat these patients,” commented Dr Daniela Marino, CEO and co-founder at CUTISS.

Continued company growth and upcoming financing round 

CUTISS will soon launch its Series C financing round this year, having already raised over 65 million Swiss Francs from private investors, family offices and public bodies.

CUTISS has unparalleled expertise in regenerative medicine linked to skin tissue engineering and skin pigmentation, and there are no direct competitors to the company’s lead product denovoSkin™.

Furthermore, the company’s knowledge in skin bioengineering, pigmentation and biology offers several growth opportunities in regenerative medicine, as well as in fields beyond medicine.

About CUTISS AG

CUTISS is a Swiss clinical-stage life sciences company focused on regenerative medicine and skin tissue engineering. It is developing the first personalized and automated skin tissue therapy offering life-saving and life-changing medical treatments for patients with severe skin injuries.

The lead product denovoSkin™ promises to take skin surgery to the next level and revolutionize current treatments. It is a bio-engineered and personalized dermo-epidermal human skin graft, currently in Phase II clinical trials in Switzerland and the European Union, with Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of burns from Swissmedic, EMA, and FDA.

CUTISS is also developing the world’s first machines that can automate the entire production process of the personalized skin graft. The company’s knowledge in skin bio-engineering and biology offers several growth opportunities in regenerative medicine. 

Established in 2017, the company is a spin-off from University of Zurich (UZH) / University Children’s Hospital and was a member of the accelerator Wyss Zurich until
February 2022. The company has 40 full time employees. Headquartered at the Bio-Technopark in Zurich-Schlieren, it won the Top 100 Swiss Startup Award 2020, and has raised over CHF 65 million from private investors, family offices and public bodies.