(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Al-Fanar Media).
A new tablet form of the drug atropine sulfate developed by a scientist at the University of Sharjah holds promise as an alternative, patient-friendly and more affordable way of treating poisoning by organophosphates, chemicals commonly found in agricultural pesticides.
Professor Mutasem (Mark) Rawas-Qalaji, head of department of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical technology at the university, has led multiple studies related to new formulations of atropine sulfate as a fast-disintegrating sublingual tablet, or FDST. He has patented the invention after it successfully passed pre-clinical experiments, the results of which he has published in leading academic journals.
The FDST treatment method has also been the topic of doctoral dissertations and numerous academic journal articles by other scientists.
Pesticides and Weapons of War
Organophosphates are cheap and affordable to low-income farmers who use the chemicals extensively in agriculture, gardens, veterinary practices and even homes. Most cases of organophosphate toxicity result from exposure to insecticides, but the compounds are also used in nerve agents like sarin that have been used as weapons in several conflicts around the world in violation of international law.
Previously, the only antidote for the emergency treatment of organophosphate toxicity outside of hospitals was multiple injections of atropine sulfate using auto-injectors that are only available for military use, says Rawas-Qalaji, who has published widely on organophosphate toxicity and other forms of chemical poisoning.
He is the lead author of a seminal research paper published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics titled “Modulation of the Sublingual Microenvironment and pH-Dependent Transport Pathways to Enhance Atropine Sulfate Permeability for the Treatment of Organophosphates Poisoning.” The article, published in 2021, provides details on the composition, formulation, and manufacturing of various versions of the tablet form of the drug and their effectiveness.
Patents Pending in the U.S. and Canada
Rawas-Qalaji says he has in place the formulation and necessary manufacturing technique required for clinical studies, which must be completed before American or European drug regulatory agencies give the drug the go-ahead.
Since he first published a series of academic papers in 2006 and 2007 about his novel sublingual tablet formulation for the treatment of various emergency medical conditions, there has been a stream of academic research using his formulation and manufacturing techniques.
He obtained his first patents from the European and Spanish patent offices in 2019 and 2020. “American and Canadian patent applications are still pending,” Rawas-Qalaji says.
He is upbeat about the significance of his experiments with atropine sulfate (AS) FDST’s and believes that his invention has the potential to be used as a good alternative and easily administered dosage for treating organophosphate toxicity. “Academic research has proved the feasibility of FDST’s as a potential dosage form to treat organophosphate toxicity,” he says.
Rawas-Qalaji’s invention has been “adopted … as a starting point for the development of AS FDST’s,” Alhussain Aodah wrote in a published Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Nova Southeastern University, in the United States, in 2017.
Widespread Incidents in Farming
Research published in 2020 by Professor Wolfgang Boedeker, of Germany’s Institut für Arbeit und Gesundheit (Institute for Work and Health), and co-authors estimated that millions of unintentional agricultural pesticide poisoning cases occur worldwide each year, “including around 11,000 fatalities.”
“Based on a worldwide farming population of approximately 860 million this means that about 44% of farmers are poisoned by pesticides every year,” Boedeker and his co-authors wrote in their widely cited paper, “The Global Distribution of Acute Unintentional Pesticide Poisoning: Estimations Based on a Systematic Review.”
Poisonings During Warfare
Rawas-Qalaji’s research has shown that his sublingual tablet also provides a good alternative to the current injectable formulation used during warfare when both civilians and military personnel have suffered from chemical weapons with organophosphates, including nerve agents like sarin.
The use of chemical weapons in warfare is prohibited under international law, but the United Nations has confirmed their deployment in the ongoing civil war in Syria and in the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war, killing thousands of civilians.
Rawas-Qalaji’s tablet has the potential to be effective in treating hypersalivation, or excessive drooling, a symptom of organophosphate poisoning that has no approved orally administered drug in the market yet.
“The tablet will break up in less than 10 seconds without the need for water and immediately release the drug to be absorbed from the sublingual area and go directly into the systemic circulation,” Rawas Qalaji says. “This makes the tablets suitable for the treatment of emergency conditions.”
Currently, scientists are conducting animal studies to allow for licensing by international pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical studies and receive funding for the mass production of the tablet.
“I am confident that with the level of know-how that we have gained in translational product development over the years we are capable of pursuing such an ambitious goal once efforts are united to achieve such goals,” Rawas-Qalaji says.
Related Reading
- Fallout From Chemical Weapons Program Continues to Plague Iraq
- Farm Workers, Unaware of Risks, Are Exposed to Pesticides
- A Jordanian Researcher Advocates for Natural Pest Control
- Sharjah Researchers Look to Blockchain Technology to Fight Degree Fraud
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