New Treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A new treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) could be on the horizon as a result of a new collaboration between a University scientist and an up and coming biotechnology company, based in the MerseyBIO Incubator.

Professor Jonathan Rhodes in the Department of Medicine at the University of Liverpool is a leader in the field of gastroenterology. His research identified that soluble fibre extracted from plantain bananas inhibits recruitment to the intestinal lining of bacteria that are thought to contribute to inflammatory episodes in IBD.

Plaintains, typically found in the West Indies, Africa and India, are large bananas that need to be cooked before being eaten. Unfortunately, you would have to eat large quantities of plantain bananas every day to get the desired effect. That is where Provexis and their expertise in consolidating the bioactive components found in plants became involved.

Provexis will now work with Professor Rhodes to develop this discovery and take it forward as a medical food product for the treatment of IBD. IBD affects approximately 95,000 people in the UK and these numbers are steadily rising. Current conventional methods of treating or managing IBD include a range of drugs and surgical intervention.

Provexis are a new biotechnology company based in the MerseyBIO Incubator. They specialise in developing and marketing products which are derived from plants but which have health or medical benefits.

They are currently developing a special fruit drink for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This specially formulated fruit juice contains their lead product Cardioflow®. Cardioflow® contains an extract harvested from tomatoes which has been shown to “thin” the blood and therefore provides a natural alternative for people self-prescribing medicines such as aspirin.

Dr Steve Franklin, CEO of Provexis said: “This is an exciting collaboration for Provexis as it enables us to expand our product portfolio and also build a new relationship with a world-class research team.”

Professor Jonathan Rhodes, Department of Medicine, said: “Crohn’s disease is an unpleasant condition that often requires surgery, so if this fibre preparation reduces disease activity it could represent a very significant advance in treatment.”

John McQuillian, Director of MerseyBIO, said: "I am delighted that a young biotechnology company based in the Incubator and a leading Liverpool University academic are collaborating in this way. The University of Liverpool is widely recognised for its outstanding research capability across the biosciences and this collaboration demonstrates the benefits which can be reaped from academic business interactions."

Source: The University of Liverpool