Safe and Potent Synthetic Lung Surfactant for Treating RDS and Acute Asthma

BACKGROUND: The use of lung surfactant dispersions, based on lipid and protein components extracted from animal lung tissue, has significantly reduced mortality and morbidity from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants in the past decade. However, existing lung surfactants are not potent enough or cost effective enough to treat adult RDS and acute asthma, both of which represent far larger indications than neonatal RDS. Growing concerns of possible viral and prion contamination from animal sources (e.g. mad-cow disease), as well as overcoming the expense in isolation and formulation of native surfactant components, make the synthetic “mimetic” approach an attractive alternative to traditional therapies.

DESCRIPTION: Researchers at LA BioMed and UC Santa Barbara have synthesized and successfully tested in animals a novel and powerful lung surfactant that overcomes the defects of the current natural products in use today. Synthetic peptide-lipid based formulations will permit levels of quality control that cannot be achieved with surfactant preparations derived from animals.

ADVANTAGES: Some advantages of this invention include:

* Equal or superior to existing commercial surfactant preparations
* Orders of magnitude more cost-effective than natural surfactant, enabling treatment of RDS
* Shows no significant toxicity in extensive animal studies
* More reproducibly prepared than current commercial surfactants
* “Animal-free”

APPLICATIONS:
* Treatment of RDS and Acute Asthma

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT: Animal studies performed

REFERENCE: 1999-356

Patents:
US 6,660,833   [MORE INFO]

Type of Offer: Licensing



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