Avotermin, an experimental drug designed to treat scarring after surgery or injury has cleared early human trials. Further trails will be conducted in Europe.

Researchers tested drug in healthy volunteers with scars. The study subjects were followed for a year. Researchers found that scares treated with the new drug were less red, raised and visible as compared to those treated with a dummy drug.

The trails including more than 200 people proved efficiency of avotermin in treating scars. Researchers found that the scars treated with avotermin looked more like normal skin.

Professor Mark Ferguson, an expert in wound healing at the University of Manchester and co-founder and CEO of Renovo, lead researcher, said: "We're recruiting 350 patients who are undergoing scar revision operations where the bad scar is cut out and we inject one end of the new scar with the drug and one end with placebo."

Mr Rajiv Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon and secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said that the results were promising but patients should not get their hopes up of the treatment being available any time soon.