Quoin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:QNRX) announced plans to initiate an investigator-led clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of QRX003 in pediatric patients with peeling skin syndrome (PSS). The study will be conducted in New Zealand.
QRX003, a unique topical lotion that targets skin inflammation and barrier disruption, is Quoin’s most advanced pipeline product. It is currently being evaluated in two late-stage clinical trials in the U.S. as a potential treatment for Netherton Syndrome (NS). Both studies are being conducted under an open IND application with the FDA.
In a statement, Michael Myers, CEO of Quoin, said, “Given the overlapping nature of how PSS presents, patients with the disease are known to have been previously misdiagnosed as having NS. Currently there are no clinical studies listed for peeling skin syndrome on clinicaltrials.gov as actively recruiting and dosing subjects, and there is no approved treatment or cure, presenting a further opportunity for Quoin to achieve the first regulatory approval for another rare genetic disease.”
PSS is a rare autosomal recessive genodermatosis caused by loss-of-function variants in the corneodesmosin gene, leading to excessive shedding of the epidermis’s superficial layers.