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Columns::September 23, 2002
UGA again named one of America’s top public universities
New athlete academic center named for Rankin Smith Sr.
Administration building atrium named for business, civic leader
Historian to present Charter Lecture about 1904 ‘childnapping’ incident
Rolling out the welcome mat
Avian Medicine Professor Emeritus George ‘Buck’ Rowland dies at 64
Prof’s research is full of personality
Update: Private Giving
Kudos
The idea of change
One year later
Good to the last drop
Campus News
Skin deep
Pharmacy professor patents way to convert solid pain-relief medications into oily form
By Sheila Roberson
roberson@rx.uga.edu
H. Won Jun, a professor in the department of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in UGA’s College of Pharmacy, has
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| Won Jun’s technique uses one or more melting-point-depressing agents to turn solid ibuprofen into an oily state at room temperature. He has achieved drug concentrations in the oil as high as 80 percent with this technique, a level unachievable by other methods. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
patented a method of converting solid pain-relief medications into an oily form that is suitable for application to the skin.
While the process was developed using a form of ibuprofen available in Europe and not in the United States, it does hold the promise of a pain-relief treatment that is absorbed through the skin, that is effective for longer periods of time than oral drugs and that eliminates the side effects that can be associated with long-term use of oral medications.
Some 30 million people in the United States suffer from the debilitating effects of rheumatoid arthritis and other painful inflammation in the musculoskeletal tissues of the joints. For decades, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen have played an important role in treating these conditions. Unfortunately, taking these drugs orally in the large doses required to alleviate the symptoms can cause serious adverse effects.
“Our technology has been to develop the formulation that can deliver the drugs through the skin more effectively and can release the drug into the body over a longer period of time,” Jun says.
Oral dosing of ibuprofen in large quantities for long periods, for example, can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and ulceration, liver and kidney damage, and some disturbances in the central nervous system. Moreover, the drug will only stay in the body for several hours after a single dose.
“Other dosing methods have similar drawbacks,” Jun says. “Rectal administration and injections are invasive and inconvenient to the patients.”
Jun’s technique uses one or more melting-point-depressing agents to turn solid ibuprofen into an oily state at room temperature. He has achieved drug concentrations in the oil as high as 80 percent with this technique, a level unachievable by other methods.
“Increasing the drug concentration in the oil phase is desirable because it enhances dermal absorption and efficacy,” Jun says. “This oily composition can be readily formulated into a cream, a lotion, an emulsion or an ointment for topical delivery of the drug. Using the compound as a cream, for example, is a non-invasive and convenient delivery method that avoids some of the adversities of other dosing methods. Patient compliance could also be enhanced with the topical cream.”
Topical application of the pharmaceutical formulation is not limited to human use, but may have veterinary and agricultural animal applications.
“The formulation is not known to cause skin irritation and can be used on intact skin, and possibly on the mucus membrane of an animal,” Jun says.
The type of ibuprofen that is licensed for use in Europe has a lower melting point than the ibuprofen used in the United States and, therefore, is more easily developed using this technique.
Jun emphasizes that the patent is for the procedure and technology that can convert solid drugs into oily forms for enhanced transdermal absorption, not for a finished product. The development of a marketable product for ibuprofen topical delivery is a slow process, he says, because of Federal Drug Administration requirements.
Once successfully developed, however, its use will be a boon to those who suffer from inflammatory and arthritic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, arthralgia, tenalgia and gout, or those who suffer from pain associated with muscle ache, backache, neuralgia, tendinitis and tennis elbow, among others. |
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