Free Republic

Swiss researchers have discovered a way to stabilise enzymes in the digestive tract by linking polymers to the enzymes. It offers a route for developing protein-based drugs that can be administered orally without rapidly degrading, and could provide new therapeutic strategies for conditions involving abnormal enzyme activity such as coeliac disease.Modifying enzymes with polymers for pharmaceuticals is nothing new and has been done for years to prolong their lifetime in the body and dampen any immune response. But protein-based drugs are typically injected or administered in a way that bypasses the gastrointestinal tract. The protecting effect of the polymer may...

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first drug to treat a rare genetic disorder that can lead to mental retardation, possibly allowing some people to relax a regimented diet now used to control the disease. All babies born in the United States are screened for the disease, called phenylketonuria, or PKU. To avoid damage to the brain, people with the disease must adhere to a strict low-protein diet, particularly in childhood but also later in life. The new drug, called Kuvan, “will be life-changing for some patients,” said Dr. Stephen D. Cederbaum, a professor at the University...