IADR and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Announce Winners of 2007 Innovation in Oral Care Awards
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare today announced the 2007 winners of the annual IADR/GSK Innovation in Oral Care Awards. The three prestigious awards recognize research in innovative oral care technologies with an ultimate goal to be used routinely by the public to maintain and improve oral health and the quality of life.
Sharing the $225,000 unrestricted research grant, which is funded by GSK Consumer Healthcare and administered by the IADR, are:
-- Toshihisa Kawai, Forsyth Institute, Boston, Mass., for "Noninvasive Gingival Delivery of FC-conjugated Fusion Compounds." The project has potential to achieve an innovative protein-based drug delivery system for periodontal and other related diseases. -- Fionnuala Lundy, Queens University, UK, and David Orr, University of Ulster, UK, for "Characterization of a Novel Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide (CGRP) Cleavage Enzyme." Research could lead to the design of commercial inhibitors to reduce the activity of the peptidases, enzymes that degrades calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which causes chronic periodontitis. The findings could ultimately be incorporated into toothpastes or mouthrinses to help overcome periodontal disease. -- Gordon Ramage, Glasgow University Dental School & Hospital, UK, for "Improving Oral Care Using Tea Tree Oil and Its Derivatives." This hypothesis-driven study will provide evidence that derivative components of tea-tree oil exhibit both antifungal and anti- inflammatory characteristics, which can be used as the foundation in the development of mouthwash and denture cleaner.
The awards will be presented during the 85th General Session and Exhibition of the IADR, to be held in New Orleans, La., March 21-24.
"GSK is privileged to work with IADR in providing the Innovation in Oral Care Awards to such talented teams of researchers," said Dr. David Alexander, director of Worldwide Dental Affairs for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "All three entries address very significant, but different, quality-of-life issues, and GSK hopes that these innovative concepts will one day be widely available to those suffering from oral diseases."
This year, the IADR/GSK Innovation in Oral Care Awards received 31 applications from teams of researchers from around the globe. Each application was reviewed by a panel of experts under the chairmanship of Dr. John Stamm, alumni distinguished professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.
"On behalf of the IADR and the Committee members, I would like to thank GSK, and specifically Dr. David Alexander, for making possible this unique and major awards program within the IADR," said Stamm. "This year, as previously, the GSK Innovation in Oral Care Awards program attracted many superb investigators and their respective research projects, and the winning research projects fit the key criterion for this award, namely, the potential of the proposed research for translation to publicly available and cost-effective therapies in the medium term."
About the International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a non-profit organization with more than 11,000 individual members worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing knowledge to improve oral health, (2) supporting the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and application of research findings for the improvement of oral health worldwide.
To learn more about the IADR, visit http://www.dentalresearch.org.
About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world's largest over- the-counter healthcare products companies and ranks second globally in sales of oral care products. Its well-known global brands include Aquafresh(R), Sensodyne(R), Polident(R) and PoliGrip(R).
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline -- one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies -- is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
To learn more about GlaxoSmithKline, visit http://www.gsk.com
The International Association for Dental ResearchCONTACT: Lindsay M. Moss of the International Association for DentalResearch, +1-703-299-8084, lmoss@iadr.org; or Malesia Dunn,+1-412-200-3544, malesia.a.dunn@gsk.com, for GlaxoSmithKline