Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited announced that clinical data from CLINUVEL's DNA Repair Program were presented overnight at the 32nd Meeting of the Photodermatology Society in New Orleans, USA, part of the 2023 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Meeting. Professor Mark Berneburg - Head of the Department of Dermatology and Genetic Skin Disorders of the University Clinic Regensburg, Germany - discussed clinical observations and results from the use of afamelanotide in three adult xeroderma pigmentosum C (XPC) patients treated under CLINUVEL's ongoing Phase II CUV156 study protocol. XPC is a genetic disease characterised by a DNA repair defect, rendering patients more susceptible to skin cancers, and significantly reducing their life expectancy.

Most patients will incur a first skin malignancy during childhood, with an average life expectancy of around 30 years. Initial results from CUV156 showed that afamelanotide was well tolerated and key markers of DNA photodamage, including cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), were reduced following treatment. The analyses from CUV156 were well received by the scientific community, recognizing that XP patients lack an effective therapy, and that disease management is currently focused on skin cancer treatment rather than prevention or repair of DNA photodamage.

The presentation noted that, afamelanotide presents as a potential photoprotective therapy for XPC patients, to be confirmed by a further study. In January 2023, CLINUVEL first reported the initial results from CUV156.