Irish Gastroenterology Researchers And Entrepreneurs Pioneer Treatments For Wide Incidence Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Ibs) In Western Populations

Main Category: Irritable-Bowel Syndrome
Also Included In: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 23 Apr 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Second only to the common cold as the leading source of workplace absenteeism in the Western world, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is suffered by between 15 and 20 percent of all adolescents and adults in Western populations - and 40 percent of those have symptoms severe or frequent enough to disrupt their work and/or social lives. Symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, flatulence and urgency of elimination.

Key opinion leaders in Ireland have been concerned with IBS and the affects of the affliction on human beings for many years. World leaders in the study of gastroenterology such as Dr. Eamonn M.M. Quigley, M.D. FACG, Professor of Medicine and Human Physiology, University College Cork, President, American College of Gastroenterology and President, World Gastroenterology Organization, and Dr. Fergus Shanahan, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine, and Director, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, National University of Ireland are among the group of Irish key opinion leaders addressing this issue. Both doctors have performed advanced studies on the condition and contribute regularly to discourse on IBS within the global medical community.

"Gastroenterology is a major interest of the Irish medical community for a number of reasons, not least of which is the historically high incidence of celiac disease in the Irish population. This, in some part at least, has contributed to a long-standing interest in research in this field in Ireland and to the involvement of some of our leading clinicians and scientists in this field of medicine. Indeed, today several of our educational institutions and research centers have a major commitment to this discipline," said Dr. Quigley. "With such a compelling knowledge-base and dynamic research community, the emergence of entrepreneurial gastroenterology businesses in Ireland has been a very natural progression! I am confident that these small and mid-sized companies will have a considerable, positive impact in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome around the world!"

Ireland's leadership in gastroenterology research has seen a high level of knowledge transfer to the commercial pharmaceutical market and today a host of Irish companies are addressing IBS. Alimentary Health, based in Cork, has successfully commercialized innovations in probiotics by licensing its technologies to Proctor & Gamble for its Align brand probiotic supplement and other technologies to GlaxoSmithKline.

In Dublin, AGI Therapeutics plc is focused on the development of differentiated drug products for gastrointestinal diseases and is near completion of testing Rezular™, an orally-administered multiple mechanism intestinal regulator. Rezular is a first-in-class mechanism for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D), which is a major medical need today.

Opsona Therapeutics makes a range of drugs that address autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Opsona's primary scientific focus is in the area of Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) biology and drug development. Opsona has developed OPN-501, an oral pro-drug for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Ulcerative Colitis and Chrohn's disease that allows site-specific delivery of the active drug to the colon while suppressing absorption in the stomach and small intestine -improving the effectiveness and reducing side effects.

Just as Opsona grew from a research entity at Trinity College and still maintains strong ties to the university, Pharmatrin in Dublin enjoys similar roots. Pharmatrin is in the process of developing a first-in-class treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, an issue that affects more than 1 million people in the United States alone.

Dublin's Sigmoid Pharma develops a vehicle for orally administered drugs that find their way to the right part of the body, primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal disease, transplantation and neuro-degeneration. The company's proprietary LEDDS technology permits controlled release of drug treatments throughout the entire GI tract and enables targeted release of poorly soluble drugs directly into the colon. Sigmoid's LEDDS technology is particularly appropriate for the treatment of children and the elderly.

"Ireland's companies in gastroenterology constitute an important component of our initiative to build a diversified knowledge-based economy," said Elaine Brennan, Senior Vice President Life Sciences Markets, Enterprise Ireland. "As each company succeeds in its respective discipline, it lends greater weight to the country's status as a research leader and an innovation resource for businesses in the functional food and novel drug treatment markets."

Underscoring Ireland's contribution to the science of gastroenterology and immunology, Irish key opinion leaders will present a symposium at Digestive Disease Week 2009 in Chicago- the first instance where a country has been permitted to present a symposium. Digestive Disease Week is the world's largest gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery, and showcases a series of papers, symposiums and exhibits to review innovations, research and techniques. The symposium title is "The Host Microbe Interface -Translating Science To Real And Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities"

Source
Enterprise Ireland

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