Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited announced the progression of its drug SCENESSE® (afamelanotide 16mg) to treat the disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). The aim of the development program is to confirm the drug's ability to regenerate DNA of skin exposed to ultraviolet (UV) damage. Skin incurs DNA damage following UV exposure. Non-ionising light penetrates the nucleus of skin cells and causes distortions to the DNA helix known as photoproducts. If left unrepaired, these chemical changes to DNA may replicate as mutations, leading to irreversible damage (photoaging) and further progress to skin cancer, including melanoma. Human biology contains complex mechanisms to protect itself from UV damage and restore cellular DNA to its original state. People of fair-skinned complexion are known to have defects in these UV protective and DNA regenerative processes, increasing their long-term risk of skin cancer. Having commercialised SCENESSE® in Europe and the USA for the rare genetic disorder porphyria (EPP), CLINUVEL is expanding its clinical research, aiming to confirm how intervention with the drug enhances elimination of photoproducts and regeneration of DNA. Following decades of clinical experience with SCENESSE®, CLINUVEL is now accelerating a comprehensive DNA Repair Program by first treating patients with the rare genetic disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) who have the most extreme deficiencies in their DNA repair processes, leading to a 10,000-fold increase in their risk of skin cancer.