SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SBTX) said first-in-human studies of its SkinBiotix technology are underway.
Researchers will be assessing skin irritancy, moisturisation potential and skin barrier function.
Results from the initial trial, which will test different concentrations of the cream, are due next months as is the read-out from the second, which will assess 20 people receiving a 12-hour treatment.
The skin barrier study is the most ambitious of the three. It will attempt to ascertain whether the positive impact of the technology on the skin's barrier function seen in the lab is replicated in 120 female volunteers with dry skin.
Tight junctions
Work in this regard will get underway in November with the data published in the first quarter of next year.
The cream uses extracts of probiotic bacteria that have been shown to increase the skin's barrier integrity by enhancing the formation of multi-protein complexes called tight junctions.
Tight junctions seal the space between cells to prevent the passage of toxins, molecules and ions through these spaces.
In doing so, it is hoped the cream can protect the body’s largest organ from harmful pathogens and increase its rate of healing.