Colon-Targeted Oral Drug Delivery Systems

Oral drug delivery to the colon has long been recognised to have a multitude of challenges. Traditionally, targeting drugs to this region of the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract was viewed as a niche application, innately providing clinical benefits for localised diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or colorectal cancer.

However, as rapidly advancing techniques in molecular biology and medical imaging have increased our knowledge of human GI physiology, the colon has emerged as an optimal site for delivery of small molecules and biopharmaceuticals.

Evidently, the colon can serve as a favourable site of absorption and provide a valuable pathway for entering the systemic circulation. The emergence of evolutionary new scientific fields including microbiome therapeutics and chronotherapeutics bring promise of a new era of pharmacotherapy via the gut.

To help realise these opportunities, Intract Pharma has developed Phloral®, a dual-action technology enabling fail-safe delivery to the colon in both healthy and diseased states, and Soteria®, a revolutionary technology that transforms injectable biologics into oral pills.