WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A Colorado-based company is launching a line of "medical- food" products for the dietary management of asthma, eczema and other allergic conditions based on discoveries by Floyd H. "Ski" Chilton, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS).
Chilton's discoveries originally led to the founding of a company called Pilot Therapeutics. Now Pilot Therapeutics and WFUHS have licensed rights to the technology to Efficas Inc. of Boulder, Colo., to allow Efficas to produce and market the therapeutic products, said Michael A. Batalia, Ph.D., director of the Office of Technology Asset Management at Wake Forest.
The EfficasTM Care products are aimed at three health conditions: asthma, eczema and allergy. The Efficas Care line is now available for online purchase.
Research by Chilton, professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, focuses on the role that diet or medical foods play in human disease. As the founder of Pilot Therapeutics, he developed an over-the-counter medical food designed to reduce the production of leukotrienes, substances known to play a significant role in asthma and allergy attacks.
"Through our research and clinical trials, we have learned that allergic individuals have a unique dietary need for two fatty acids, GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)," Chilton said. "Our studies also show that increased consumption of these nutrients can inhibit leukotriene production in patients."
The new products contain a patented formula of marine oil and botanical oil (borage seed oil) that contains the optimal amount and ratio of GLA and EPA.
"The new licensing arrangement between Efficas, WFUHS and Pilot Therapeutics will allow both companies to advance new technology," Batalia said. "Efficas is a well-funded health science and technology development company with the resources to market these new products, and Pilot Therap
'"/>
Contact: Robert Conn
rconn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4587
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
8-Nov-2006