John Maslowski is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fibrocell Science, a biotech company that is developing cell and gene therapies for a variety of rare, mostly skin-related, conditions. At the BIO International Convention held in Philadelphia, PA, we talked to Maslowski about Fibrocell’s technology and pipeline.

Maslowski said, “We work off of a platform using autologous fibroblast cells, they come from skin, so a lot of the focus is on rare skin diseases,” adding, “Our lead indication is FCX-007 for
recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) which is a very painful and terrible rare blistering skin disorder in kids. And our second indication is in FCX-013 for moderate to severe
localized scleroderma.”

Maslowski continued, “Our goal in both of these is to deliver genes of interest and fibroblast cells by transducing them with a vector, a lentivirus in our particular case, and delivering these proteins to the area directly into the disease and skin to hopefully have a clinical change in those areas.”

While the company’s current focus in on rare genetic skin disorder, Maslowski believes they can expand to other genetic conditions. “We've chosen to work in dermatology, it's probably a less busy space , but we can affect multiple disorders involving connective tissue.”

In addition to their scientific breakthroughs, the company is expanding at a corporate level. Maslowski said, “We recently closed a partnership deal with a company called Castle Creek Pharma in New Jersey. They are working in rare diseases and by coincidence also in EB, which is how we met via advocacy groups,” adding, “we’ve closed a deal where we will co-develop now our FCX-007 program.”

The partnership with Castle Creek draws on the strengths that both companies can provide. Fibrocell can continue to develop their drugs in house while Castle Creek can provide their expertise in drug development, market analysis and sales.

RDEB is a rare genetic condition in which children do not produce enough Type VII collagen due to a mutation in the COL7A1 gene. The net result is severe blistering and loss of skin. It is an extremely painful and debilitating genetic disorder that often leads to death. FCX-007 is a gene therapy designed to provide healthy COL7A1 genes into the skin.

Localized scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune skin disorder that results in excess production of collagen, that in turn, causes the thickening of the skin and connective tissue. FCX-013 is a gene therapy that produces excess metalloproteinase 1, a protein that can help break down collagen.

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