Harnessing the colon for local and systemic diseases

Written by Dr Atheer Awad

Opportunities for colonic-targeted therapies

The colon is a diverse and dynamic environment with multiple characteristics that make it a unique region of the gastrointestinal tract. Drug delivery to the colon has become increasingly attractive with treatment opportunities including local (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and local infections) as well as systemic disorders (e.g., asthma, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s diseases, HIV, cystic fibrosis).

In recent years, colonic strategies have progressed from single approaches into multi-stimuli tactics, which exploit multiple characteristics of the colonic environment and exert their effect in parallel to achieve more robust and consistent site-specific drug delivery. On this basis, several technologies were developed including Phloral® and OPTICORE™, both of which have been used in the formulation of marketed drug products.

What's new?

Our review paper outlines the latest advances in colonic drug delivery, with an emphasis on emerging therapeutic opportunities and clinical technology translation.

Read our review article here.