RS Honors Dr. Mohammed Al-Ansari
RS Patents and Intellectual Property Office at Kuwait University registered a new patent for the academic year 2020/2021. The patent was announced by the US Patents Office and is titled “Method for Treating Vitiligo”, by Dr. Mohammed Al-Ansari, a faculty member at the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine- Kuwait University.
Dr. Salman Al-Sabah, Assistant Vice President for External Research Collaboration and Consultation, received Dr. Al-Ansari in his office and honored him for obtaining the Red Ribbon on his discovery of a novel treatment for vitiligo which was internationally commercialized under Kuwait University. Dr. Ali Al-Mutairi, Acting Vice President for Research, was also present at the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Salman Al-Sabah expressed his pride of this accomplishment, which is acknowledged as a major achievement to Dr. Al-Ansari as well as Kuwait University. He also expressed KU’s interest in such inventions given their benefit to the society reflecting RS continuous support to such achievements.
Dr. Al-Sabah also noted that Kuwait University provides legal protection for intellectual property, while focusing on developing this invention from an idea into a practical application that would benefit the university and Kuwait both economically and scientifically. He further explained that the university should make the most of such projects through including them in the curricula and teaching all stages of projects from the initial idea to the commercialization of the product.
Similarly, Dr. Ali Al-Mutairi was pleased with the implementation and commercialization of this idea, considering this achievement a source of pride for Kuwait University and Kuwait as well, while signaling the project’s contribution in elevating KU’s international ranking. Dr. Al-Mutairi congratulated the researcher and wished him further success in the future.
On the other hand, Dr. Mohammed Al-Ansari appreciated the endless support of Kuwait University and the Research sector provided to his project which is specially designed to treat Vitiligo based on an innovative idea. He added that all preliminary experiments took place in Kuwait University and received great support from faculty members at the Department of Biochemistry and other faculty members in the College of Medicine. Dr. Al-Ansari also explained that the initial findings were published in several conferences at Kuwait University.
An overview of the new vitiligo treatment:
It is based on more than a single treatment. The first treatment has components that help in skin pigment enhancement and immunoregulation; whereas the second treatment contains skin revitalization components and antioxidants. According to the Global Vitiligo Foundation (Member of the UN ECOSOC Economic and Social Council), it is considered one of the first detailed treatments for vitiligo. The treatment has been commercialized after signing the production contract with a Dutch company while being registered in more than 30 countries.
Vitiligo is a condition in which the skin loses its pigment cells (melanocytes). This can result in discolored patches in different areas of the body. Vitiligo varies from one person to another, and there is no specific Off-labeled treatment.
The treatment gives very good results in most cases, especially those that did not respond to traditional treatments. The response rate is very high in the inner parts and weak in the limbs.