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Inflammatory
gastro- intestinal diseases
An estimated 2.5 million
Europeans and Americans suffer
from chronic inflammatory diseases
of the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract. Unfortunately the root
of the inflammation has not
been definitively identified
as yet, so there is currently
no cure for these diseases.
Even when inflamed segments
of the gut are surgically removed,
this does not always prevent
further inflammation from erupting.
For patients suffering from
inflammatory bowel diseases,
only palliative measures can
be prescribed. The aim of these
medications is to curtail the
duration of acute inflammatory
attacks and bring the patients
into remission, as well as to
sustain patients in the remission
phase for as long as possible.
To optimize this therapy, it
would be highly desirable to
formulate anti-inflammatory
drugs in dosage forms with targeted
delivery to the inflamed sites
within the GI tract.
Within the ZAFES framework,
Prof. Dr. Dressman
of the Insitute of Pharmaceutical
Technology and Prof. Dr. Jürgen
Stein
of the University clinic, together
with an industrial partner,
Röhm Deutschland GmbH,
are seeking to produce formulations
with release profiles within
the GI tract optimized for the
various inflammation patterns
resulting from Crohn’s
disease, ulcerative colitis
etc. To date five patents have
been filed and the first prototypes
have already shown promise in
preliminary clinical evaluations.
For more details see: News
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