Clinuvel to begin trial of Scenesse in US and Europe

Clinuvel will initiate pilot trials of its drug Scenesse (afamelanotide) in the US and in Europe for patients with vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a disease which causes patchy loss of skin colour in ‘lesions’ which spread over the body. Onset of the disease can be sudden and lesions can spread quickly.

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Scenesse is an injectable that mimics the body’s natural ability to activate the skin pigment melanin, and will be trialled in nonsegmental vitiligo, the most common form of the disease, which affects over 45 million individuals globally.

The drug will be tested in combination with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) light therapy, a recognised treatment but one which takes up to 18 months of twice- or thrice-weekly clinical visits to return pigment to the skin.

The goal of the trial is to determine whether Scenesse will reduce the dose of radiation (NB-UVB) and the time required to reactivate skin pigment producing cells in vitiliginous lesions.

Clinuvel is conducting the trial of up to 120 patients at six expert global vitiligo centres, three each in the US (California, Michigan and New York) and Europe. Approval for the trial has been granted in Italy with applications pending in France and Switzerland.