Pulmonary fibrosis is an inflammatory disease in which patients have difficulty breathing, as it is challenging for the lungs to expand sufficiently. This is a deadly disease that had no drug-based therapy until recently. The FDA Voice Blog reports that that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ofev (nintedanib) and Esbriet (pirfenidone), two new […]
Biologics are large molecules—hormones, cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines—created by the process of recombinant DNA technology in living cells. These products have greatly contributed to therapeutic breakthroughs in oncology and inflammatory disorders among others. As patents for many of these biologics begin to expire in the next few years, opportunities arise for developing generic versions of […]
In first world countries, the incidence of allergies, autoimmune diseases, asthma, and other inflammatory conditions has risen significantly. Some postulate that the hygiene hypothesis may be the reasoning for this increase. Other studies, however, have pointed toward diet and bacterial metabolites playing a larger role in inflammatory diseases, according to a paper published in the […]
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are serious conditions that affect the colon and small intestine as well as the mouth, esophagus, and stomach. These conditions can lead to vomiting, abdominal cramps and pain, weight loss, diarrhea, and even anemia. According to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, inflammatory bowel diseases – including ulcerative colitis and […]
Crohn’s disease is a painful condition that causes inflammation or swelling of the bowels and impacts the gastrointestinal tract. It affects as many as 700,000 Americans at any given point. In fact, more than half of a million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with this condition. Some common symptoms include abdominal cramps, fever, […]
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that attacks the joints and has plagued middle-aged and elderly generations for centuries. Despite ongoing research efforts, the cause of RA remains unknown, but it is characterized by aggressive synovial hyperplasia and inflammation. Without treatment, this leads to the destruction of joint cartilage and bone. Researchers and medical […]
Imagine having abdominal cramps, inflammation, and pain along with a fever and weight loss. Individuals diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) suffer from these medical issues every day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that IBD is caused by chronic immune response and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. What occurs is the immune […]
According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition that accounts for as much as 12% of all primary care provider visits in the United States. IBS was once widely characterized as a psychosomatic condition, with little knowledge of the underlying biology, where mental stressors were abstractly […]
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are autoimmune conditions in which the immune system attacks regions of the digestive system. Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two most common forms of IBD, differing in nature and location of inflammation within the digestive system. Although there are notable differences between CD and UC – which […]
The design of pre-clinical studies is a complex task, and understanding the translation from animal model to human diseases requires a great deal of care and a high level of understanding of both the basic science and the clinical condition. Many drugs in clinical development flounder due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable side effects. […]