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ˇˇˇˇInflammation is a defense reaction caused by tissue
damage, injury or bacteria/viral infections. The inflammatory
response involves leukocyte accumulation at the site of
injury/infection. Excessive accumulation of leukocyte
can cause various diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid
arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, septic
shock, etc. Every year, there are about 26 million people
affected by such kind of diseases in U.S. alone, with
a direct healthcare cost of about 10 billion dollars (
82.7billion RMB ). Inflammation response also results
in over-production and deposition of collagen, which cause
tissue fibrosis and affect normal organ functions. Fibrosis
is a wide-spread disease that can occur in various organs.
In the US, fibrosis is the leading cause of death ( ~45%
of total ), doubling the number of deaths caused by cancer
each year. Common fibrosis diseases include live cirrhosis
and kidney fibrosis caused by inflammation in liver and
kidney respectively, heart muscle fibrosis as a result
of coronary heart diseases, and scar tissue resulted from
skin injuries. In China, liver cirrhosis is one of the
most common threats to health, which is usually caused
by hepatitis or alcohol abuse. Recently, most of the deaths
associated with SARS are resulted from pulmonary fibrosis
in late-stage patients. However, treatment for fibrosis
is rather limited, despite its prevalence and often death-causing
threat to health.
ˇˇˇˇ The small molecule compound F351, developed by the
Company as a non-steroid anti-inflammation drug, can block
the key step in the process leading to fibrosis, significantly
reduces the synthesis and the deposition of collagen in
liver, kidney, lung, and skin tissues. Non-toxicity as
shown in animal tests and in vitro experiments,
as well as low future manufacturing costs, makes this
compound a high potential oral drug candidate for broad
indications including pulmonary fibrosis, liver cirrhosis
and skin scar formation.
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