Mexicans create cream to heal wounds of diabetics

More than 5 million people around the world die every year due to external wounds and their complications. These wounds take longer to heal for people with diabetes.

Diabetes is the second leading cause of death in Mexico, so in light of this, two researchers from the FEMSA Biotechnology Center and one Tec graduate got down to work.

Cuauhtémoc Licona, José Manuel Aguilar, and Tec graduate Jorge Carrasco set themselves the task of creating a cream that would enable this type of wound to heal faster and thus improve these patients’ quality of life or even save their lives.
 

This innovative treatment has already been made available to the public through health services in Oaxaca, with 300 samples that were created through the company Scicore Medical.
 

“The product was developed in order to be easy to apply, effective, reduce costs, and as we’re thinking about the population at large, reach the bottom of the pyramid,” explained Carrasco, the creator of Scicore who recently graduated from this institution with a doctorate in Biotechnology.

It’s taken more than two years’ work to be able to create this treatment, which was applied across this southern state thanks to the FEMSA Foundation and Dr. Héctor Cabrera, Director of the Biotechnology Center.

“What we executed was a pilot program, a clinical trial with patients from Oaxaca’s primary care clinics so that we could apply the product and find out how it would benefit the treatment of different wounds,” explained Licona.

The researcher added that they now hoped to expand distribution of the creams to other states.

SAVING LIVES!

The researchers mentioned that the cream helps prevent leg amputations of diabetes sufferers.
 

“This product accelerates wound closure by up to three times the normal rate. This reduction in time leads to a reduction in costs, because people need fewer dressings and less medication,” added Carrasco.

There are currently three patents pending for the product.

For the three of them, this type of achievement is what being a researcher is all about.

“It’s the greatest satisfaction of my career. Maybe it’s because I wanted to be a doctor before studying Biology, but I realized that I could improve the quality of life of many more people through science by developing this type of product,” said Aguilar.

At the presentation of the 300 medical treatments to the government of Oaxaca, the state governor, Alejandro Murat, recognized the work performed by this team of specialists for treating these conditions.
 

“It’s a quantum leap for protecting the lives and health of Mexicans,” said the Governor of Oaxaca on February 25 of this year.
 

For his part, Manuel Zertuche, Dean of the School of Engineering and Sciences, said that this treatment held out hope to people suffering from these conditions.

“I’m grateful to the trust shown by the state’s Health Services in making this technological innovation available, which enables the quality of life of those using it to be improved,” he said.

Ricardo Ramírez, Associate Dean of Research at the School of Engineering and Sciences, said that this achievement allows Tecnológico de Monterrey to demonstrate that it wants to make an impact on society through the generation of knowledge.

“The constant search for new knowledge guided by human sensitivity is what generally distinguishes the strategy followed by the School of Engineering and Sciences to become the top School of Engineering and Sciences in Latin America and among the top 50 in the world.”

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