New Technology May Help Millions Suffering from Colon Disease
ROCHESTER, MINN. – Thanks to an early holiday gift of patents from Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Mayo Clinic is better positioned to develop a new type of capsule that shows promise in more effectively delivering medications to treat colon diseases. Today, P&G announced the donation of its proprietary Colonic Delivery Technology to Mayo Clinic.
Along with seven patents, P&G is donating all associated intellectual property to Mayo. As the sole new owners of the technology, Mayo will benefit from all future revenues after the technology is further developed, tested and commercialized.
“We are pleased that Mayo Clinic’s international reputation as a leader in the area of lower gastrointestinal (GI) disease research has been affirmed by this promising gift,” said Michael Camilleri, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and hepatologist in Rochester, Minn., and a leader in research in the diagnosis and treatment of lower GI diseases. “With these patents, we hope to pursue development of therapies that could have wide applications for patients.”
“We are excited that Mayo will be able to continue the development of this significant and promising technology,” said Bob Greene, vice president of research and development for P&G’s personal health care unit. “Colonic Delivery Technology has the potential to improve peoples’lives – and Mayo is uniquely qualified to bring this important technology forward.”
While GI products continue to be a key focus for Procter & Gamble’s Health Care business unit, the Colonic Delivery Technology was not a fit with the company’s current technology portfolio.
Procter & Gamble’s external consultants identified Mayo Clinic as the organization that is most uniquely qualified to develop Colonic Delivery Technology due to their ongoing leadership in this area of research. Mayo Clinic researchers have been investigating targeted delivery of diagnostic materials (e.g. radiolabeled particles for diagnostic purposes) and drug therapy to the colon since the late 1980s.
Using this new technology, Mayo Clinic gastroenterologists, Dr. Camilleri and William Sandborn, M.D., will investigate how the delivery capsule described by the patents can improve delivery of medication to the site of disease, and hopefully enhance treatment of colonic disease.
About Colonic Delivery Technology
Colonic Delivery Technology holds promise for direct, more effective delivery of therapeutic agents to the colon for patients being treated for illnesses such as irritable bowel disorder, colonic cancer, ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. A special capsule, taken orally, allows drugs to bypass premature absorption by the stomach or small intestine, and to be released from the capsule once inside the colon. This delayed release mechanism of drug delivery should improve the drug’s efficacy by concentrating the medicine where it is needed most and also minimize potential side effects and drug instability issues that are frequently associated with premature release in the stomach and small intestine. Colonic Delivery Technology may additionally hold potential for oral delivery of relatively fragile peptide drugs, such as insulin, which currently are delivered by injection.
P&G markets 250 brands to five billion consumers in 130 countries. The company’s health care product portfolio includes leading GI products such as Metamucil, Pepto Bismol®and a variety of prescription drugs. P&G invests nearly $2 billion a year to develop and improve its products – leading the way in research and development globally among consumer products companies. P&G’s Global Licensing and External Business Development Unit is charged with ensuring the company maximizes the value of its “treasure trove” of technologies by selling, licensing and, in some cases, donating these technologies. The unit is also responsible for licensing select P&G brand trademarks.
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