Cystic Fibrosis Treatments on the Horizon
Recently, a patent was issued for an inhalable treatment for the bacteria
Novoclem Therapeutics recently announced that a possible inhalable treatment for P. aeruginosa infections in patients with cystic fibrosis has received a United States patent and is now being readied for a first clinical trial.
Patent number 9,850,322 was issued to the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill where the prospective therapy, BIOC51, was discovered and covers a technological advancement known as water-soluble polyglucosamine compositions that release nitric oxide.
BIOC51 was designed to be inhaled as a dry powder or nebulized solution and penetrate the thick mucus in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients to reach and eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa. BIOC51’s mode of action involves the controlled release of the chemical nitric oxide in order to eradicate both free-floating bacteria and bacteria growing in biofilms, which develop when bacteria stick together on surfaces and excrete a slimy, glue-like, protective substance.
