Description:
Reference #: 01409
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for Novel Pharmaceutical for Prevention of Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis
Background:
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is one of the curable cancers and the standard treatment regimen involves combination chemotherapy involving bleomycin. One of the fatal side effects of bleomycin is pulmonary toxicity. In three tested cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma treated with ABVD chemotherapy who had pulmonary toxicity, all three developed bleomycin-induced pulmonary toxicity in the form of pulmonary fibrosis during treatment of the disease. The mode of treatment, the severity of the condition, and the treatment outcome varied among the three. Two recovered following treatment and one patient died due to irreversible pulmonary damage. Causality assessment using Naranjo’s scale gave a score of 7 for case one and three and a score of 6 for case two, both indicating the adverse drug reaction to be a probable bleomycin-induced Lung fibrosis.
Invention Description:
Bleomycin is a chemotherapy agent that is used to treat several cancers. Unfortunately, bleomycin may cause extensive lung damage in the form of pulmonary fibrosis in as many as 10% of patients. This damage is caused because the lungs do not express the bleomycin-inactivating enzyme bleomycin hydrolase, and may be fatal once developed. In order to prevent pulmonary side effects, we suggest an inhaled form of the enzyme bleomycin hydrolase. This enzyme will have been produced by and isolated from laboratory bacteria, then later purified and administered to the patient through an inhaler-type device where it will deactivate bleomycin in the lungs.
Potential Applications:
This invention would provisionally prevent pulmonary toxicities -- allowing patients to continue with their cancer chemotherapy regiment unhindered. Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis may also be fatal once developed. This medication may prevent the fatality associated with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
Advantages and Benefits:
Bleomycin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent but is limited in practice due to concern for bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and other pulmonary toxicities. Pulmonary fibrosis may be fatal. This invention would prevent bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and allow for an expansion of the role of bleomycin in clinical practice.