Evolved to fight infections, the body’s own immune system can cause inflammatory disease when dysregulated. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriasis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBD), etc., are some such diseases caused by the overly active immune system. Though inflammatory diseases have gained epidemiological significance only in the last few centuries, the escalating incidence highlights the need for therapeutic interventions in the area. The dedicated team of scientists working in the Inflammation Therapeutic Area Franchise at the Piramal Healthcare Research Centre has undertaken the uphill task of taming the immune system and alleviating inflammatory diseases.
The availability of in-house libraries of herbals and small molecules as well as the ability to synthesize novel compounds help the group to screen thousands of compounds for potential hits. The scientists in this group are up-to-date on the scientific developments in the field of immunology and inflammation. They use this knowledge and their broad capabilities in indigenously developing in vitro assays as well as in vivo models for determining the efficacy of potential drugs.
Addressing the burgeoning need for palliatives in the field of RA, IBD and Psoriasis, two small molecules are in the final stages of preclinical development. These molecules have shown potent activity in bringing down the levels of TNF-alpha, a key cellular factor responsible for inflammation in the body.
Tinefcon® which was discovered and developed at the Piramal Research Centre is a marketed anti-inflammatory herbal product for alleviating disease and improving the quality of life in psoriasis patients the world over.
Selected publications:
- Nilesh M. Dagia, Gautam Agarwal, Anshu Chetrapal-Kunwar, Divya V. Kamath, Ravindra D. Gupte, Mahesh G. Jadhav, Shruta Dadarkar, Jacqueline Trivedi, Asha A. Kulkarni-Almeida, Firuza Kharas, Sanjay Kumar & Mandar R. Bhonde. A PI3K Inhibitor Attenuates Experimental Inflammation by Suppressing the Production of Pro-Inflammatory Mediators in a NF-kB Dependent Manner. Am. J. Physiology-Cell Physiology, 2010, 298 (4), C929-941.