UM-Harvard Collaboration To Tackle Lung Diseases

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysian scientists are joining forces with Harvard University in a bid to revolutionise treatment of lung diseases by the delivery of nanomedicine deep into areas otherwise impossible to reach. According to a statement from Malaysia's Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC), the two parties entered a five-year collaboration, which would see scientists from University of Malaya (UM) and Harvard, work together to seek a safe, more effective way of tackling lung problems. This includes treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which has affected 235 million people worldwide with 80 per cent of cases caused by cigarette smoking. The disease causes one in 10 deaths today. Treatment of COPD and lung cancer commonly involves chemotherapeutics and corticosteriod misted into a fine spray and inhaled, enabling direct delivery to the lungs and quick medicinal effect. However, because the particles produced by today's inhalers are large, most of the medicine is deposited in the upper resporatory tract. Led by Professor of Enviromental Physiology, Joseph Brain, the research draws on expertise at Harvard in biokinetics to determine ways to administer medicine to achieve the proper dosage to impact target cells and assessing the extent to which drug-loaded nanoparticles pass through biological barriers to different organs. Malaysia's role within the collaboration among others are to help ensure the safety and improve the effectiveness of nanomedicine, assessing how its particles behave in the body and how it interacts with target and non-target cells, according to the statement. Commenting on the research, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Prof Zakri Abdul Hamid said nanotechnology is making a significant impact on healthcare by delivering improvements in disease diagnosis and monitoring, as well as enabling new approaches to regenerative medicine and drug delivery. "Malaysia, through the Malaysia Institute for Innovative Nanotechnology (NanoMITe), is proud and excited to join the Harvard team and contribute to the creation of these life-giving innovation," he said. The research effort with Harvard is one of several underway at the NanoMITe, initiated in 2013 through GSIAC, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Based at the Universiti Teknology Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, NanoMITe's mission is to engage in global scientific research collaborations to generate ideas, knowledge and products to benefit society while contributing to the national economy. -- BERNAMA