Applied Protein Sciences has expanded its product pipeline and is developing solutions for unmet medical needs in a variety of therapeutic indications.

APS is focused on the prevention and treatment of Mucositis, both Oral and Gastro-Intestinal.

Mucositis is a common and very painful side effect of current cancer treatment regimens and oral and GI mucositis account for over 600,000 new cases annually. Patients develop inflammation of the digestive canal making it extremely painful to ingest, chew or swallow food without external aids such as intravenous therapy. Moreover, mucositis is usually accompanied by bleeding along the digestive tract and predisposes patients to both local and systemic infections. These drawbacks interrupt the radiation or chemotherapy regimen, making each far less efficacious. Accordingly, mucositis has a significantly negative impact on the quality of life of the patients.

Treating mucositis often requires a combination of hospitalization, narcotics and intravenous feeding. Overall cost of treatment of oral mucositis can exceed $43,000 per treatment cycle, including hospitalization. Such costs pose huge economic burdens for both the patients and the overall health care system. APS products provide a cost-effective solution for treatments where alternative approaches are limited.

In traditional patient care techniques, patients are encouraged to sit upright at a 90° angle and lean their head slightly forward. Their eating habits are severely compromised and this has an added adverse effect on their health. In order to relieve discomfort of dry mouth, patients are asked to rinse mouth with water before and after every meal. Topical Coating Agents and topical anesthetics are used to relieve discomfort, but is no preventive medication in the markets.

Proctitis is inflammation of the lining of the rectum, called the rectal mucosa. Symptoms can be acute (short term) or chronic (long term). Proctitis is often a side effect of radiation techniques employed for cancer treatments. Sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, herpes, and chlamydia may also cause proctitis. The inflammation of the rectal mucosa may also be related to ulcerative colitis or autoimmune conditions that cause inflammation in the colon or small intestine. However, unlike ulcerative colitis, which is more extensive, Ulcerative Proctitis is confined to the small area of the colon known as the rectum.

Symptoms for radiation induced proctitis include tenesmus and diarrhea in the short term and tenesmus, bleeding and rectal pain in the long run. About 175,000 pateints in the US suffer from proctitis. Although it can affect people of all ages, it tends to be concentrated in the more developed countries like the US. Presently there are no medications for the prevention of radiation induced proctitis, and physicians routinely prescribe iron supplements and antibiotics for pain relief.

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the general name for diseases that cause inflammation in the small intestine and colon. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the rectum and colon. Ulcers form where inflammation has killed the cells that usually line the colon, then bleed and produce pus. Inflammation in the colon also causes diarrhea.

It can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to other intestinal disorders and to another type of IBD called Crohn’s disease. Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include anemia, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, rectal bleeding, loss of body fluids and nutrients and skin lesions. Occasionally, symptoms are severe enough that patients need hospitalization. In such cases patients may need a special diet, feeding through a vein, medications, or sometimes surgery.

Nearly 300,000-500,000 Americans suffer from ulcerative colitis. It can occur in people of any age, but it usually starts between the ages of 15 and 30. Ulcerative colitis remains a significant unmet medical need with little emphasis on prevention for radiation or chemotherapy induced ulceration.