To treat brain diseases, Danish drug maker Lundbeck uses shark antibodies as the newest and most effective way to breach blood-brain barrier. The drug maker have joined with privately owned American biotech company, Ossianix, in researching the valuable potential of shark antibodies to treat brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Successful early research shows that shark antibodies have no problem bringing medicinal drugs across the barrier that protects the brain, a feat that have proven difficult for other drugs.
The two companies are offering an exciting new way for brain medicines to finally cross the blood-brain barrier, delivering the necessary ingredients to reduce symptoms of brain, through shark antibodies.Both companies stated on Thursday that Lundbeck paid unspecified amount of cash to Ossianix after the lab tech firm successfully experimented the concept on mice. Ossianix has several labs in Britain and test experiments for pharmaceutical companies.
According to the Reuters, Lundbeck uses shark antibodies to show the effective transfer of potential medicines across the blood-brain barrier in mice. This allows the drug to be shuttled across the barrier where they bind to their target. This finding is a breakthrough in brain medicine since getting large-molecule medicines across the barrier has been a major challenge for drug developers.
The blood-brain barrier protects the brain from the invasion of infectious pathogens and other foreign materials from reaching the parts of the sensitive brain. Among ancient animals, sharks have the most evolutionarily immune system similar to humans. This characteristic may offer a solution, the Nasdaq reports.
It still might take years to fully develop the technology and to produce it as a marketable medicine. However, Lundbeck research team leader Kim Andersen said it had "significant potential". The news that Lundbeck uses shark antibodies certainly gives hope in treating brain diseases and even mental health disorders .
