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The gastrointestinal, or GI, market is composed of the many diseases causing heartburn, acid indigestion and bowel disorders. Many GI diseases exhibit both infection and inflammation and represent potential targets for NUCRYST's silver nanocrystals. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and is a natural progression for the development program. NUCRYST is in early proof-of-concept and formulation development in this area.
Ulcerative colitis (UC), the first area of focus, causes inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the rectum and colon. UC affects about half a million people in the US. The US spent approximately $500 million in 2006 on medications to treat UC, according to IMS Health.
About half the people diagnosed have mild symptoms. First-line treatment for mild-to-moderate disease is typically from a class of drugs known as 5-ASAs (aminosalicylates). These drugs may not work for everyone or may not be well tolerated. NPI 32101 has a novel mechanism of action and may hold tremendous potential as a new class of drug in UC that is not another 5-ASA.
C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is another important and growing medical problem. US cases have doubled since 2000 and CDAD is becoming more prominent with the increased use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors. Current treatments, powerful antibiotics like metronidazole and vancomycin, kill only the vegetative form and spores are implicated in recurrences. NUCRYST believes that NPI 32101's dual action against both the vegetative and spore forms of C. difficile could lead to a first-in-class drug that both treats and prevents disease recurrence. |
