An international group of researchers has developed a biodegradable patch using special polymers which are able to stick to moist surfaces. The new patch, described in the journal Biomaterials, is a breakthrough therapy for the treatment of oral lichen planus and recurrent aphthous stomatitis, chronic inflammatory conditions often characterized by erosive and/or painful oral lesions that have a considerable impact on quality of life.
The new patch administers steroids directly to oral ulcers and forms a protective barrier. Image credit: Colley et al, doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.06.009.
Oral lichen planus affects 1-3% of the world’s population causing bilateral, white striations, papules or plaques, whereas recurrent aphthous stomatitis presents as painful, round, shallow ulcerations of the mucous membrane, causing substantial morbidity in a reported 25% of the world’s population at some point in their lifetime.
Current treatment is dependent on steroids to reduce inflammation and pain that are delivered either systemically, which although effective, rapidly induces unacceptable side effects leading to cessation of treatment or alternatively delivered topically by mouthwashes or gels.
The new muco-adhesive patch successfully administers steroids directly to oral ulcers or lesions and has a long adhesion time.
It was developed by researchers from the University of Sheffield, UK, Dermtreat A/S in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Current treatments consist of using steroids in the form of mouthwashes, creams or ointments, but these are often ineffective due to inadequate drug contact times with the lesion,” said Dr. Craig Murdoch, a researcher in the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield.
“The new patch acts like a plaster inside your mouth, which means it is very effective at directly targeting the specific area as well as forming a protective barrier.”
“Patients who have trialed the patch found it to be very comfortable to wear and they were really pleased with the length of adhesion which makes it particularly effective and efficient.”
“Collaboration with the University of Sheffield has undoubtedly accelerated the translation of our intellectual property towards clinical use,” said Dr. Jens Hansen, Chief Executive Officer at Dermtreat A/S.
“Our company are very confident that we will soon gain regulatory approval for the first adhesive drug delivery technology to address pressing clinical needs in oral medicine.”
“We look forward to continuing this collaboration, which will be increasingly directed at finding new clinical applications for muco-adhesive patches.”
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H.E. Colley et al. 2018. Pre-clinical evaluation of novel mucoadhesive bilayer patches for local delivery of clobetasol-17-propionate to the oral mucosa. Biomaterials 178: 134-146; doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.06.009
