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The Vice Chair of the Wound Healing Foundation, Laura K. S. Parnell was selected to be a panelist for the FDA's Patient-Focused Drug Development Public Meeting on Nonhealing Chronic Wounds. Laura shared her family's experiences with nonhealing chronic wounds during the session and their experiences with clinical trials in a rural area. Because of where they live, her Dad's diabetic foot ulcer required extensive time and traveling to find a clinician who could work with them with minimized in-person visits. She shared some of the hopelessness and frustration her Dad had to endure over multiple years and how that impacted him and his family. Laura also discussed key information her family considered when looking at clinical wound trial participation including how a placebo group affected their decision making.
When asked about the non healing chronic wound listening session, Laura said:
"My heart breaks for the patients that are hopeless and feel they have no one to turn to. Their wound clinicians should be supporting them and working as a team to find a workable solution, not blaming them or telling them to live with it. My family had three plus years of despair and frustration and too many clinicians that did not approach the wound and my Dad with the effort it took to be successful. We are very blessed to have found the right wound team for us. Today my Daddy is ulcer free 6+ years due to personal diligence and team collaboration. My family wants to extend hope to wound patients, families, and caregivers to not give up and keep working towards healing. After the listening session, I am reinvigorated to assist the Wound Healing Foundation develop the awareness and educational resources wound patients need and are asking for."
If you missed the session or would like to rewatch, you can access the meeting recording at:
🎤 https://youtu.be/n6oboWBI_Ec?si=lBSIyvHj2NfZ0YXV
Also, the FDA is soliciting additional comments through the public docket, which will remain open until October 26, 2026. You can provide any wound related comments. The FDA is particularly interested in learning from wound patients and caregivers about:
- What would influence your decision to join a clinical trial testing a treatment that improved your symptoms but didn’t always fully close your wound?
- If a treatment made a wound smaller but didn’t close it completely, would you consider that a clinically meaningful treatment.
- The FDA is interested in hearing further from patients with diabetic foot ulcers and venous foot ulcers about how they view percentage area reduction vs complete closure.
The FDA is listening, use your voice today to share about your wound and its impact on you!
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