Wenzhou Medical University Seeks $285,000 Technology Transfer for Breakthrough Recombinant Human FGF4-Based Wound Healing Therapy

Recently, Wenzhou Medical University“Recombinant Human FGF4 Protein and Its Application in Skin Wound Repair”Public Notice on the Transformation of Relevant Scientific and Technological Achievements: It is proposed to transfer these achievements through listed trading, with the listing price set atRMB 2 millionRMB. The inventor of this patent isSun Jian and His Team。

This Patent and Technological AchievementFills the gap in the application of FGF4 protein in wound repair, addressing the unmet clinical needs in the treatment of chronic, hard-to-heal wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers, it provides a novel protein-based therapeutic solution that combines high repair efficiency with functional quality of healing.

As the largest organ of the human body, the skin serves as a critical physiological barrier connecting internal tissues with the external environment. Its core function is to maintain the stability of the body’s internal milieu and defend against external insults, including pathogenic invasion, physical friction, and chemical irritation.

When the skin sustains acute injuries such as mechanical trauma, burns and scalds, or surgical wounds, or when chronic damage arises from underlying conditions like diabetes and circulatory disorders, the normal structural organization of the skin is disrupted, leading to a compromise in its barrier function. If the injury is not repaired in a timely manner, the wound remains exposed to the external environment, significantly increasing the risk of secondary infection. In severe cases, this may lead to the spread of inflammation, tissue necrosis, and even life-threatening complications.

With the intensifying aging of the population, the incidence of chronic non-healing wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, and venous ulcers, has increased significantly. The pathogenesis of these wounds is extremely complex, involving multiple pathological processes including local circulatory impairment, imbalanced inflammatory responses, reduced cellular proliferation and migration capacity, and dysregulated tissue repair signaling pathways. These factors impede the wound healing process, creating a vicious cycle of “injury–inflammation–re-injury,” which causes prolonged physical suffering for patients and imposes a substantial medical burden.

Current clinical management of skin wounds primarily focuses onBasic Nursing and Symptomatic Treatment, with a lack of targeted innovative therapeutic approaches.

For acute wounds, the core management protocol encompasses wound cleansing and disinfection, anti-infective therapy, and coverage with sterile dressings for protection. When necessary, adjunctive surgical interventions such as suturing and skin grafting may be required to facilitate wound repair.

For hard-to-heal wounds such as chronic diabetic wounds, comprehensive interventions—including wound debridement, negative pressure drainage, and local anti-infective therapy—should be implemented in addition to controlling underlying conditions (e.g., glycemic control and improvement of circulation).

Most existing solutions can only achieve superficial wound closure, failing to promote the regeneration of skin appendages and the reconstruction of normal tissue architecture. Post-healing complications such as hypertrophic scarring and reduced skin tensile strength are common. Furthermore, chronic wounds are characterized by prolonged disease courses and high recurrence rates, resulting in persistently high disability rates.

In the field of biopharmaceutical applications, the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family has garnered significant attention due to its potential role in tissue repair and regeneration. Currently, clinical use of paracrine FGF2 is limited, primarily leveraging its wound-healing properties to aid in the treatment of certain acute wounds; however, the scope of such applications remains extremely narrow.

Team FocusRecombinant Human FGF4 Protein (rFGF4), achieving multiple innovations from mechanism to application in the field of skin wound repair. Its core advantages precisely address the pain points of existing clinical treatments, providing a novel solution for wound repair.

First, it clearly defines the efficacy of FGF4 protein in wound repair, breaking through the application limitations of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family in the field of wound treatment.Previously, within the FGF family, only FGF2 had been sparingly applied as an adjunctive therapy for acute wounds. Leveraging in vitro and in vivo experimental systems, this study provides the first evidence that the FGF4 protein possesses potent wound-healing activity. In particular, it addresses the gap in biologic agents for the treatment of chronic, non-healing wounds, thereby opening up novel clinical application avenues for FGF4 protein.

Second, sequence design balances diversity and functionality.This patent provides the four core amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1–4 and their derivative proteins (which retain activity despite substitution, deletion, or addition of one or several amino acids), encompassing various truncated forms and mutants. This not only ensures the stability of protein activity but also offers flexible options for the precise treatment of different types of wounds.

Third, its mechanism of action can precisely target the core processes of healing.The study clearly demonstrates that this protein accelerates wound healing by promoting keratinocyte migration, a key pathway. It addresses the core challenge of chronic wounds—impaired cell migration and stalled healing processes—at the cellular level, achieving a precise breakthrough in therapeutic mechanisms.

Based on the aforementioned innovations, the FGF4 protein demonstrates comprehensive and superior core advantages:

Its therapeutic efficacy is broad and significant, not only accelerating the healing of acute wounds such as mechanical injuries, burns and scalds, and surgical wounds (with a healing rate of 97% in the treatment group in experiments, far exceeding the 83% in the control group), but also demonstrating breakthrough therapeutic effects on chronic non-healing wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers. In experiments using diabetic model mice, the wound healing rate increased from 75% in the control group to 93%, completely breaking the deadlock of chronic wounds being “incurable.”

The quality of wound healing has achieved a functional improvement. Unlike existing solutions that are limited to superficial wound closure, this protein promotes collagen deposition, reduces scar width, and induces the regeneration of skin appendages such as new hair follicles. This enables a leap from mere “wound closure” to “functional repair,” significantly reducing the risk of sequelae such as hypertrophic scarring and decreased skin tensile strength.

The manufacturing process is well-established and holds potential for industrial-scale production. A complete production system has been established, encompassing plasmid construction, gene cloning, expression in Escherichia coli, and purification via heparin affinity chromatography. Following concentration using a gel filtration column, the protein purity can reachOver 98%, the manufacturing process is stable and scalable, laying a solid foundation for clinical translation and large-scale application.

Clinically,Xianglei Diabetic Foot Ointmentis the world's first for chronic non-healing wounds1.1 Natural Product-Like Innovative Drugs(Cross-strait collaborative R&D. This product has been included in the recommendations of relevant expert consensus statements in 2024. Furthermore, numerous researchers are exploring new products and mechanisms for chronic, hard-to-heal wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers and pressure injuries.)

Chen Qiaohua’s Team at Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical UniversityLaunch“Autologous PRP Gel (Repair Components Extracted from One's Own Blood) + Local Oxygen Therapy + Negative Pressure Drainage” Triple-Modality Regimen, specifically addressing the challenges of chronic non-healing wounds, namely “limited efficacy of monotherapy, slow healing, and persistent inflammation.” The innovation of this regimen lies in transcending single-modality treatment by leveraging the synergistic effects of three components: PRP gel provides natural repair factors; oxygen therapy ameliorates the hypoxic wound environment; and negative pressure drainage removes exudate and maintains a clean wound bed. These modalities complement one another to enhance healing efficiency. Furthermore, as the approach utilizes autologous materials, it minimizes the risk of rejection, thereby balancing safety and efficacy.

Team from Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyFocusing on the challenge of impaired healing in diabetic wounds due to hyperglycemia, infection, and angiogenesis impairment, we have developed aComposite Hydrogel CA(@)Mg-MOF/Met, as well as its preparation method and the application of this composite hydrogel in the preparation of dressings for diabetic wound repair. This composite hydrogel offers the advantage of high drug-loading capacity and exhibits excellent ROS-responsive and pH-responsive properties, enabling it to scavenge excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) at diabetic wounds and inhibit bacterial infection, thus demonstrating significant application prospects in the field of diabetic wound repair. This study creatively addresses three major limitations of existing technologies: first, the low drug-loading efficiency of MOF carriers for metformin (<40%); second, the lack of responsiveness to alkaline microenvironments (pH 8–9) in conventional hydrogels; and third, the inability of single-function designs to simultaneously address metabolic regulation, antibacterial activity, and angiogenesis.

These new solutions, which integrate innovative concepts with cutting-edge technologies, are not only bringing hope for recovery to patients but also quietly driving the evolution of trauma treatment paradigms. In the future, more precise, intelligent, and personalized treatment options are to be anticipated.