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This seems to be quite good news (an understatement if ever there was one).
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NEW DELHI: This is probably the biggest techno-medical breakthrough from India in the past few years.
Researchers at the AIIMS and IIT-Delhi have obtained patent for a biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel that they say will revolutionise treatment of diseases like cancer, osteomyelitis and brain tumour through targeted drug delivery, minimising side-effects of toxic antibiotics. The first phase for obtaining FDA approval has also been cleared.
A hydrogel is a polymeric compound that can store water or other molecules in their intermolecular space, making them ideal for localised drug delivery. The only other similar compound approved by the FDA was introduced in the US in 2005, but the hyaluronic acid-based compound, costs a whopping Rs 1.5 lakh for one gram. Thus it can be afforded by vwey few people. The gelatin-based polymer developed by AIIMS and IIT costs a mere Rs 40 per gram.
Explaining the concept, Dr Amit Dinda, additional professor, department of pathology, AIIMS, said, "Hydrogels like silicon have been used for sometime now. But their side-effects and non-biodegra-dability is an issue. They have to be surgically removed. The biocompatibility of our compound means that there would be no side-effects and as it is biodegradable, it will degrade on its own." Hydrogels can alter the treatment of any disease requiring high dose of antibiotics or for inoperable deep-seated tumours like those in the brain. Initial studies have been done on osteomyelitis, a bone infection that causes bone decay.
"The normal protocol of treatment is oral administration of 2 gm per day of gentamycin, a highly toxic antibiotic for a period of one month to six weeks. But as the drug goes through the blood stream, other organs suffer the toxic effects. With hydrogel as little as 40 mg may be directly introduced into the bone cavity through the pus channels using a biopsy needle. There is staggered release of the drug and no trace of it in the blood stream," Dr Dinda said.
Hydrogels can be programmed at the time of making to degrade and release the chemical within at a specific rate. The rate has to be different for different diseases. The institute which has already got pre-bids "running into crores" for the compound is now planning to conduct clinical trials on cancer patients.
For cancer patients, the best thing is that chemotherapy drugs can now be given straight at the organ affected so that side effects like hair and immunity loss will be hugely reduced. The team is now working on developing nanoparticles of hydrogel that would ensure that in breast and ovary cancers, it can be coupled with folic acid and injected.
This promises to reduce the cost of hydrogel treatment (per gram of hydrogel) from Rs. 1,50,000 (3488.37 $) to Rs. 40 ( 0.93 $).
This also promises to reduce the side-effects to almost nil.
And this is from India's most reputed institutie and this is announced AFTER they have got permission for clinical trials, so most likely this is not a publicity stunt.
If this works, then cancer treatment will be affordable and effective for the poorest of the poor, and far more effective than it is today (because this can target the affected area without the drug ever hitting the bloodstream).
Yay for AIIMS!
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NEW DELHI: This is probably the biggest techno-medical breakthrough from India in the past few years.
Researchers at the AIIMS and IIT-Delhi have obtained patent for a biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel that they say will revolutionise treatment of diseases like cancer, osteomyelitis and brain tumour through targeted drug delivery, minimising side-effects of toxic antibiotics. The first phase for obtaining FDA approval has also been cleared.
A hydrogel is a polymeric compound that can store water or other molecules in their intermolecular space, making them ideal for localised drug delivery. The only other similar compound approved by the FDA was introduced in the US in 2005, but the hyaluronic acid-based compound, costs a whopping Rs 1.5 lakh for one gram. Thus it can be afforded by vwey few people. The gelatin-based polymer developed by AIIMS and IIT costs a mere Rs 40 per gram.
Explaining the concept, Dr Amit Dinda, additional professor, department of pathology, AIIMS, said, "Hydrogels like silicon have been used for sometime now. But their side-effects and non-biodegra-dability is an issue. They have to be surgically removed. The biocompatibility of our compound means that there would be no side-effects and as it is biodegradable, it will degrade on its own." Hydrogels can alter the treatment of any disease requiring high dose of antibiotics or for inoperable deep-seated tumours like those in the brain. Initial studies have been done on osteomyelitis, a bone infection that causes bone decay.
"The normal protocol of treatment is oral administration of 2 gm per day of gentamycin, a highly toxic antibiotic for a period of one month to six weeks. But as the drug goes through the blood stream, other organs suffer the toxic effects. With hydrogel as little as 40 mg may be directly introduced into the bone cavity through the pus channels using a biopsy needle. There is staggered release of the drug and no trace of it in the blood stream," Dr Dinda said.
Hydrogels can be programmed at the time of making to degrade and release the chemical within at a specific rate. The rate has to be different for different diseases. The institute which has already got pre-bids "running into crores" for the compound is now planning to conduct clinical trials on cancer patients.
For cancer patients, the best thing is that chemotherapy drugs can now be given straight at the organ affected so that side effects like hair and immunity loss will be hugely reduced. The team is now working on developing nanoparticles of hydrogel that would ensure that in breast and ovary cancers, it can be coupled with folic acid and injected.
This also promises to reduce the side-effects to almost nil.
And this is from India's most reputed institutie and this is announced AFTER they have got permission for clinical trials, so most likely this is not a publicity stunt.
If this works, then cancer treatment will be affordable and effective for the poorest of the poor, and far more effective than it is today (because this can target the affected area without the drug ever hitting the bloodstream).
Yay for AIIMS!
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