Optimization of Angiotensin II Receptor type 1 Blockers (ARBs) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) is a lung disease that cause a lot of suffering to the Canadian population. To accelerate the drug discovery process, an old blood pressure lowering medication was tested to block the progression of COPD. A patient study showed that the old medication did provide some protective effect to the lung airways of COPD patients. However, we have found that this old medication does not slow down COPD by lowering blood pressure, but rather by acting on a new, unknown target. As expected, we found that this old medication is an average mediator of lung protection, and there are other medications in the same class of drugs that may provide better lung protection. We will assess these other medications and will also make some modifications to the structure of the old medication to improve its ability to protect the lung airways of COPD patients. Our innovative proposal to speed up the drug discovery process will benefit COPD patients and the management of their disease.

Faculty Supervisor:

Pascal Bernatchez

Student:

Zoe White

Partner:

Providence Health Care

Discipline:

Pharmacy / Pharmacology

Sector:

Pharmaceuticals

University:

Program: