IIT-M Professor developed drug for chronic kidney failure

An indigenous drug, developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, which can remove toxic phosphorous from the body of a patient with chronic kidney failure has been awarded a process patent.

Sevelamer Hcl, the oral medicine introduced in the market four years ago by Pune-based pharmaceutical company Emcure under the brand name Foseal, is a gel-like substance which swells up within the body and binds the phosphorous. It then exits the body through faeces. The drug was developed by organic chemist and IIT-M professor S Sankararaman along with Madras Institute of Nephrology (MIN). Until then patients had to either use metal-based drugs with high side-effects or import a similar drug at a very high cost.

After having devised an indigenous method of developing the drug, the scientists applied for a patent. Nephrologists say the drug is efficient, delays dialysis when given early to kidney failure patients and increases longevity with better quality of life in patients who are on dialysis.

"It was a project between doctors and engineers initiated under the socially relevant projects initiative of IIT-M. It was started in 2003 with the vision of being in a dynamic equilibrium with our social environment," IIT-M director MS Ananth told reporters on Wednesday. "In a country where the doctor-patient ratio is small and doctors have very little time for research, its vital for institutions like ours to collaborate," he added.

Doctors at MIN first collaborated with IIT-M in 1995. MIN nephrologist Dr Rajan Ravichandran explains: "It all began when one of faculty's father became my patient. They had to spend lots of money on dialysis because everything including the machine was imported. We together decided to develop an indigenous machine. We succeeded in that effort two years later. Since then we have been working on different projects."

In 2003, Dr Rajan discussed with scientists in department of organic chemistry about the need for developing an indigenous product that will eliminate toxins like phosphorous, which can't be removed by dialysis. "High level of phosphorus in the body, a condition called hyperphospatemia, can block the blood vessels and cause various problems like heart diseases," he said. Earlier, doctors used to treat the condition with aluminum hydroxide and calcium carbonate. "But use of metallic compounds like aluminum led to serious side-effects with patients having dementia and Alzheimer's. Today, treatment of this disorder with aluminum is banned. We still use calcium carbonate because it's cheaper but it too carries risk of triggering a heart disease," he said.

The latest phosphate binder is a resin apart from being indigenous makes the process of manufacturing simpler and hence cost effective.