New asthma treatment candidate provides hope to millions
By IGHI guest blogger Chanice Henry, Pharma IQ
Researchers have uncovered a new drug candidate that could relieve millions of people who are under-served by current asthma treatments.
Asthma is a relatively common disease that hinders the respiration of over 300 million individuals globally, leading to episodes of wheezing, chest tightness and other severe problems.
Limitations
Indeed inhalers and other medications exist to manage the disease. However, many of these manufactured treatments have critical side effects and fail to provide relief for around one-third of asthma suffers. Bronchodilator inhalers are used by the majority of asthma suffers and although effective in treating respiratory conditions there are still some gaps in understanding on how and why these inhalers work.
According to recent reports US prices for biologics that combat asthma are to be reviewed this year.
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New hope
After examining over 6,000 compounds, researchers from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Shanghai University in China have identified a new drug that relaxes the muscles and opens airways in egg and dust mite induced asthma sufferers.
Luis Ulloa, a lead author and immunologist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School notes that the treatment could provide hope for asthma suffers without many options currently.
The study discovered that asthmatic lung tissue had lower levels of the protein metallothionein-2 (MT2). In fact, mice without this protein were twice as vulnerable to asthma. Treatment with MT2 improved breathing troubles.
The treatment the researchers developed from the M2-2 protein (TSG12) was found to relax airway muscle cells, widen pulmonary airways and lower pulmonary resistance.
The next stage for the candidate, which is not toxic to human cells and more successful in reducing pulmonary resistance than other FDA approved medications according to the medical school, is for it to enter clinical trials.
Luis Ulloa said: “We found that the TSG12 used in the study is both non-toxic and more effective in reducing pulmonary resistance and could be a promising therapeutic approach for treating asthma without losing their effectiveness overtime.”
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