Dr. Laura Sly and her team at UBC have achieved a breakthrough in treating inflammatory bowel disease. Their innovative GlycoCaging technology attaches medications to plant sugars, creating a delivery system that stays inactive until it reaches the inflamed intestine, where gut bacteria break down the sugar and release the drug exactly where it’s needed. Early results show this targeted drug delivery system could treat IBD with dramatically lower doses than current therapies, without affecting the rest of the body.
The team is now expanding this technology to other IBD drugs, including powerful medications currently limited by serious side effects. Their approach could make these treatments safe enough to use earlier, and avoid drug toxicity and a suppressed immune system, potentially transforming care for the one-third of pediatric IBD patients who don’t respond to today’s therapies. An endowment created 25 years ago by the CH.I.L.D. Foundation, a B.C.-based organization dedicated to finding cures for pediatric IBD, enabled Dr. Sly’s team to develop and test this breakthrough technology, bringing new hope to children who have run out of options.
For more information about supporting the UBC Department of Pediatrics, please contact Alana Schultz at alana.shultz@ubc.ca.