Chronic wounds represent one of the most persistent and costly challenges in modern healthcare.
These persistent injuries not only reduce quality of life but are a massive financial strain on healthcare systems. In the UK, the annual NHS cost of wound management was £8.3 billion back in 2018—a figure that is likely to be much higher now.
Faced with an aging population and the rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the burden placed on healthcare systems is only set to increase. As bacteria evolve to resist conventional antibiotics, infections become harder to treat, healing is delayed, and the risk of complications such as amputations and sepsis increases significantly.
Despite this, the wound care industry has remained relatively stagnant, dominated by incremental improvements in dressings and outdated approaches to infection control. At the recent Society of Tissue Viability (SoTV) conference, these systemic issues were plain to see.
As Dr. Cole Sims, Biology Team Leader at LightOx, observed, “SoTV and similar industry events are fantastic for speaking to frontline healthcare workers. But true wound care innovations? As I and others observed, you could count them on one hand.”
The challenge of wound care for diabetic foot ulcers
Nowhere is the need for progress more apparent than in the management of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).
These wounds often go unnoticed due to nerve damage (neuropathy), and by the time they are identified, the infection may have reached bone, putting patients at risk of amputation. DFUs frequently become infected and are notoriously difficult to treat, especially when biofilms form, which can shield bacteria from immune responses and antibiotics.
Dr. Carrie Ambler, CSO at LightOx and a leading expert in skin biology and tissue repair, notes, “Infections disrupt what would be the normal program of cell behaviors that facilitate wound repair.”
Traditional systemic antibiotics and debridement techniques might address the infection but can simultaneously impair the delicate healing process.
With standard treatments often failing to keep up and the issue of AMR becoming ever more pressing, the need for targeted, effective, and innovative solutions for DFU management has never been greater.
The wound care field is starved of innovation
Despite the clear need, wound care has historically lagged behind other areas of medicine in terms of innovation.
“There have been so few innovations in wound care,” Ambler says, expressing frustration with the slow pace of progress. “While there are some interesting developments, such as the use of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in treatments like manuka honey-based therapies, these are not scaleable solutions.”
According to both Sims and Ambler, one of the major issues is that much of the market is dominated by silver-based dressings, negative pressure therapy, and repackaged materials offering marginal improvements.
Recent additions, such as nitric oxide-based dressings or topical acids, are either new variations on old themes or fairly drastic in their approach. Regulatory hurdles add further complications.
“If a dressing says it acts in the wound rather than just on it, it risks being reclassified as a drug, which requires a more stringent approval process” explains Sims.
This is where LightOx’s precision topical approach to antimicrobial wound therapy stands out.
“At industry events like SoTV, we keep hearing the same sentiment: there just isn’t much innovation happening,” Sims says. “People are excited about what we’re doing precisely because it’s different and actually addresses the core issue of infection in a novel way.”
LXD231: A precision light-activated gel for wound care
LightOx’s approach stands apart in terms of its strategy towards tackling wound care, while sitting comfortably into the standard of care and current treatment pathways.
Instead of developing yet another variation of an existing antibiotic, the team has created a topical, light-activated gel that destroys bacteria directly at the site of infection while sparing healthy tissue.
This gel, LXD231, represents one of the few true innovations in the field. Activated by light, it provides highly localised antimicrobial action, avoiding the systemic side effects of oral/IV antibiotics.
Because it’s not absorbed into the bloodstream and relies on a physical cell killing mechanism rather than a biochemical one, bacteria are much less likely to evolve resistance. Moreover, light-activated therapies are suitable for repeated use at the same site, meaning that patients with chronic wounds can avoid the risks of long-term antibiotic use.
“It’s not a systemic pill; it’s a targeted antimicrobial tool,” Dr. Ambler emphasises. “It works where it’s needed, when it’s needed, and doesn’t interfere with the healing tissue.”
In addition to targeting acute infections, LXD231 shows promise in preventing the formation of bacterial biofilms—one of the most challenging complications in chronic wound management. Early feedback from the healthcare community has been overwhelmingly positive.
“From district nurses to global medtech reps, we’ve heard that this is one of the only genuine innovations they’ve seen,” Sims says. “Some clinicians even asked if they could buy it right now!”
Bringing the light of innovation to wound care
In a market starved for true innovation, LightOx stands out with a genuinely novel solution—one built around the biology of skin repair, the realities of infection, and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
“What’s needed,” says Dr. Ambler, “is something that reduces bandaging and antibiotic use, improves patient quality of life, and cuts overall costs. It’s a billion-pound problem in the UK alone, and far more worldwide.”
With regulators pushing back on antibiotic overuse and demanding more rigorous device classifications, interest in targeted, non-systemic therapies is rising fast.
Backed by solid science, a credible clinical pathway, and collaborative support from Health Innovation North West Coast—who are helping gather clinician and patient insight as part of a wider accelerator programme—LightOx is uniquely positioned to meet this need.
The commercial potential is clear: a large, underserved market, a differentiated and defensible technology, and early clinical validation, all at a moment when diabetes and AMR are converging into a global healthcare crisis.
“Imagine someone is scheduled for amputation next week,” Sims says, “With our light-activated therapy, they might have another option. It’s a pivotal moment—an opportunity to try something that could help them keep their foot. That’s a powerful proposition.”
For clinicians, patients, and investors alike, LightOx offers more than just a new technology. It offers a potential turning point in how we approach infection, healing, and the future of wound care.
