Didier Merlin, PhD: Using Nanoliposomes to Treat IBD Inflammation

The side effects of treatment for ulcerative colitis or colitis-associated cancer can be debilitating for patients.

Often chronic inflammation of the intestines is a common part of the colonic neoplastic process, fostering the proliferation, survival and migration of colonic tumor cells.

Currently, the most potent drugs to treat this condition are anti-tumor necrosis factor inhibitor agents (anti-TNF), which exploit the targets involved in the pathophysiology of the inflammatory responses in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This class of drugs may also have some anti-colon cancer effects.

However, anti-TNF agents also come with severe side effects, mainly inflammation, and are administered intravenously.

In data presented during the Crohn’s and Colitis Congress 2022 Annual Meeting, presented initial data showing the value in utilizing nanoliposomes loaded with a stable metabolite from 6-Shogaol called M13 to treat ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated cancer.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Didier Merlin, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, explained how the nanoliposomes work and what benefit this would have for patients.

Merlin said the orally taken drug delivery system would both be more convenient for patients, but also be able to provide cancer-fighting drugs as well as medication that would reduce the side effects of the drugs.

The nanoliposomes are derived from the lipids of ginger-derived-nanoparticles and loaded with M13, which is an anti-inflammatory drug candidate.