AVITA Medical (ASX:AVH) has commenced a randomised, controlled clinical trial of RECELL in the treatment of deep partial-thickness (second-degree) burns in China.
RECELL is a medical device designed to facilitate skin regeneration while reducing the amount of skin harvested at the time of surgery.
The clinical trial, 'Key Technique and Clinical Pathway for Burn Treatment', is being funded by the China National Health and Family Planning Commission.
Burn patients will be randomised to be treated with either standard of care, RECELL or one of two other treatments. The study is being led by Dr Dahai Hu of The First Affiliated Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University (Xijing Hospital).
AVITA Medical also announced that it is collaborating with the Plastic Surgery Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) to establish a RECELL training centre based in Beijing.
The training centre will help standardise a protocol for the use of RECELL, train RECELL surgeons countrywide, and encourage the expansion of the use of this treatment to hospitals across China.
RECELL is being distributed in China by China Pharmaceutical Group Shanghai Medical Instrument, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopharm, the state-owned healthcare conglomerate.
“We are pleased to be working with such prestigious organizations as the China National Health and Planning Commission, PUMCH and Sinopharm,” said Dr Michael Perry, AVITA Medical’s CEO. “Our initiatives within China are consistent with our evolving strategy of using data from controlled clinical trials and health economic studies to ensure that RECELL is effectively promoted and priced in all major markets.”