Novel treatments for inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of the gut and is recognized as a serious medical condition associated with a profoundly negative impact on patients’ quality of life. Currently, there are no widely acknowledged causes of this disorder and no effective treatments available. Panag Pharma Inc. is a Halifax based drug company which focuses on development of novel therapeutic treatments which can be used to alleviate both pain and inflammation associated with ICD. The goal of our research is to provide IBD patients with symptom and pain relief, as well as to improve outcome. Previous research showed that the immune system is modulated by specific system within our body, called the endocannabinoid system. Our approach uses special drugs, called cannabinoids, which are designed to target this system and as a result, provide symptom and pain relief and improve patients’ quality of life. Our project uses an established animal model to evaluate the effectiveness and toxicity of our treatment before human trials. The intern will learn valuable research industry-standard skills while Panag will gain insight into the therapeutic potential of the treatment.

Faculty Supervisor:

Christian Lehmann;Juan Zhou

Student:

Saki Sultana

Partner:

Panag Pharma Inc

Discipline:

Pharmacy / Pharmacology

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University