May 18, 2007
A U of S researcher has been awarded $242,000 to continue development of a new anti-inflammatory drug.
Western College of Veterinary Medicine researcher John Gordon and his team will look at a number of inflammatory ailments to determine which are the most promising candidates for human clinical trials for the new drug, a protein called G31P.
The grant is part of $1.2 million in Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funding for Saskatchewan health research announced in April.
G31P targets a very specific part of the inflammatory response, so it may be superior to alternatives that can cause severe complications in high doses or over extended periods.
The drug could become an ideal treatment for those suffering from arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cystic fibrosis. Over the next year, the team will look at those ailments as well as bacterial pneumonia, allergic diseases like asthma, cancer, and injuries that occur in heart attack, stroke, and organ transplant patients.
The funds come under a CIHR Proof of Principle (POP) grant, intended to bridge the gap between university research and commercial development by supporting the work needed to bring innovations to a market-ready stage, where industry can be attracted to continue development. Vancouver-based PacGen BioPharmaceuticals has licensed G31P for further development.
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