A World Health Organization (WHO) study presented the statistics regarding burn injuries in 2018, which mentioned that every year, about 180,000 people succumb to burn injuries, with majority of the incidents occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, burns are considered to be among the leading causes of disability-adjusted life years in these countries. One example is of India where more than 1,000,000 people suffer from moderate to severe burn injuries every year. Furthermore, in nations, such as Pakistan, Egypt, Colombia, and Bangladesh, about 18% children become permanently differently abled and about 17% become differently-abled due to burn injuries.
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As these injuries result in extensive skin damage, one of the most important ways to treat them is to use the skin replacement and substitutes. These are referred to as a skin graft, for which, the skin is collected from a suitable site and then transplanted on to the affected area of the recipient’s body. This is done to encourage the regeneration of the affected tissue and the formation of new functional skin. These substitutes are majorly available as cellular and acellular products.
During 2014–2018, acellular skin replacement and substitutes were the most popular. In fact, in the coming time as well, they would continue to witness the highest demand. These products consist of acellular components, such as collagen or nylon mesh, which act as a silicon membrane and a dermis. Further, they contain biological matrix and biologically-processed matrix. Besides being suitable for skin replacement in pediatric population, these products can be used to treat superficial as well as excised wounds. A P&S Intelligence study has predicted the skin replacement and substitutes market to advance at a 6.3% CAGR in the coming years.
With the increasing knowledge about medical sciences, it has been established that the skin grafts taken from one individual, when administered into the other, may trigger a fatal immune response. To take care of this, extensive research has been going on in the biomedical field for the development of bio-engineered skin. One of the methods that have been effective in skin regeneration is by using skin scaffolds, which are essentially 3D structures that are seeded with keratinocytes and placed at the wound site. This would help in providing protection against microorganisms, toxins, and other harmful agents. Some popular products that have already been developed and market are Dermagraft, Transcyte, and AlloDerm.
