David W. Scharp, MD, FACS
About the Author
Dr. David W. Scharp, MD, is a scientist, surgeon, researcher, and a former tenured Professor of Surgery at Washington University St. Louis (Barnes Hospital). He has developed Dupuytren’s Disease and Contractures. Dr. Scharp was a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Novocell (ViaCyte). Dr. Scharp founded the non-profit Scharp-Lacy Research Institute, focusing on Diabetes, Stem Cell, and Dupuytren’s research. Dr. Scharp also founded Prodo Laboratories, https://prodolabs.com/, the global leader in distributing Human Islets for Research to bio, pharma, and educational institutions, as well as the International Islet Distribution Program (IIDP) for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Scharp has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been cited over 9,000 times.
Dr. Scharp has studied the pathophysiology of Dupuytren’s Disease for the past decade. His research led him to develop a therapeutic cream, Progeneron Hand Cream (PHC), that has stabilized his contractures for the last five years, halted further progression and prevented his case from requiring surgical or injectable enzymatic treatments.
As of May 2021, PHC has undergone a 29 patient, 90-day IRB safety study headed by Dr. Raymond Raven, MD, and is presently the subject of a 180-day study in which, thus far, 90% of patients have stabilized without any indication of disease progression. Furthermore, nodule softening, pain mitigation, and increased flexibility have been experienced by over 72 % of the population. Anecdotal evidence would also suggest that the application of PHC will also work in conjunction with enzyme treatments and may obviate more invasive surgical procedures.
Dr. Scharp has recently published a 250-page monograph on the history and pathophysiology of Dupuytren’s Disease and Dupuytren’s Contractures. Information is available on both the Progeneron website https://progeneron.net/ via a physician’s login portal and the Scharp-Lacy Research Institute https://scharplacy.org/, a nonprofit institute focusing on Diabetes, Stem Cell, and Dupuytren’s research.
Progeneron LLC is a research company focusing on naturally-derived topically applied products for hand and skin diseases, disorders, syndromes, and conditions.
For additional information please download the paper here.