IlYang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Small mol. peptides based on the amino sequence of thymosin β4 were prepared using solid-phase synthesis, and their bioactivities were investigated. Small mol. peptides are less than ten amino acids in size so can be produced on a large scale and, after modification, can easily penetrate blood vessels or tissues. The authors studied the ability of the small mol. peptides to promote wound healing, angiogenesis, and hair growth by examining their effects on the proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and human dermal papilla cells vs. those of thymosin β4, vascular endothelial growth factor, and minoxidil, resp. Several small mol. peptides promoted significantly more cell proliferation than the corresponding pos. controls.

Ilaprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) currently in clinical use, may provide improved acid suppression vs. other PPIs.

To compare the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles of ilaprazole and esomeprazole.

A phase 1, randomised, open-label, single-centre, 4-period crossover study was conducted in 40 healthy volunteers. Ilaprazole 10, 20 or 40 mg or esomeprazole 40 mg was administered once daily for 5 days with ≥5-day washout intervals. Pharmacokinetic blood samples and intragastric pH measurements were collected at scheduled timepoints for 24 h after dosing on Days 1 and 5.

Esomeprazole 40 mg provided significantly better pH control during the initial hours (0-4 h) after a single dose, but ilaprazole (particularly 20 and 40 mg) provided significantly better pH control for the entire 24-h period and during evening and overnight hours after single and multiple doses. Increasing ilaprazole doses resulted in dose-proportional increases in peak plasma concentration and area under the plasma concentration vs. time curve following single and multiple doses. Ilaprazole was safe and generally well tolerated; an unexpectedly high incidence of allergic eye and skin reactions were observed but were not specific to any dosing regimen. Plasma gastrin concentrations did not increase proportionately with increasing ilaprazole dose.

Ilaprazole provided significantly better pH control over 24 h and during evening and overnight hours compared with esomeprazole in healthy volunteers, which may translate to greater relief of night-time heartburn in the clinical setting for patients with gastric acid-related disorders.

Many studies have provided evidences that hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) including preS region could be an ideal candidate for a new hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine with higher efficacy. The authors established CHO cell lines, IY-CHO-2 and IY-CHO-11 expressing high levels of HBsAg containing preS2 and S protein by a stable transfection method. These cell lines expressed the correct size (about 1 kb in length) of HBsAg mRNA as expected. The purified protein from the culture supernatants of the clones showed the same sizes as those expressed in native hepatitis B virus (24 kDa, 27 kDa, 34 kDa, and 36 kDa). Antibody productivity of CHO-derived HBsAg protein at lower dose challenge was higher than the protein containing S region alone expressed in the yeast system. Thus, CHO-derived HBsAg protein containing preS2 and S region can be used for a better immune response as an HBV vaccine.