Soligenix granted patent for IBS treatment

PRINCETON, N.J. Soligenix has obtained a patent for a drug to treat irritable bowel syndrome, the drug maker said Wednesday.

The company said the U.S. Patent Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,704,985, covering the use of beclomethasone dipropionate as a treatment for IBS and related diseases.

“There is an increasing awareness that IBS results in part from an inflammatory cascade in the [gastrointestinal] tract, which makes it amenable to treatment with topically active steroids such as oral BDP,” Soligenix CEO Christopher Schaber said. “This potentially expands the available treatment options for IBS.”