Hi, my name is Henric.

I was born with a rare genetic skin disease called Lamellar Ichthyosis, a condition that affects my skin every single day of my life.

People with ichthyosis are born with genetic mutations that prevent the skin from functioning normally. The result can be severe scaling, pain, inflammation, overheating, infections, and a lifetime of daily treatments just to manage the symptoms.

Today, there is no cure.

Current treatments mainly focus on controlling symptoms rather than correcting the underlying genetic cause. Patients can spend countless hours applying creams, taking medications, and managing complications — while the disease itself remains.

That is why I founded The ARCI Initiative, a nonprofit initiative dedicated to accelerating research toward long-lasting and potentially curative treatments for ichthyosis.

We are building a global effort that brings together patients, researchers, clinicians, biotechnology companies and supporters around one goal: to help turn promising ichthyosis research into treatments that can reach patients.

Our first major fundraising effort supports the development of a new gene-editing therapy by Epithelica, a biotechnology company developing treatments designed to address the underlying genetic cause of ichthyosis and related genetic skin diseases.

The aim is not simply to reduce symptoms, but to develop a treatment capable of providing long-term correction of the disease itself.

Advanced genetic therapies have already begun transforming the outlook for several previously untreatable genetic diseases. We believe people living with ichthyosis deserve the same opportunity.

Years of research have brought this program to an important stage. Preclinical development has advanced significantly, and the next steps toward clinical testing require substantial funding for areas such as manufacturing, regulatory development and clinical studies.

This is where we can make a difference.

Your donation can help bridge the gap between promising research and a therapy that can ultimately be tested in patients.

Whether you donate $5 or $5,000, you become part of a growing international effort to create a future where children and adults with ichthyosis are not limited to managing symptoms for the rest of their lives.

Please consider donating and sharing this campaign with others.

Together, we can help bring transformative treatments for ichthyosis closer to reality.

Thank you for your support.

Henric Skytt

Founder, The ARCI Initiative

Learn more about our mission and the research we support at www.thearciinitiative.org