The Idea of the Patent Revolves Around the Development of a Treatment for Asthma and Allergies

Through the Office of Patents and Intellectual Property at the Office of Vice President for Research, and with the effort of Prof. Charles Ezeamuzie from the Department of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Oluodotun Phillips from the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University registered a patent from the US Patent Office at the US Department of Commerce, entitled: “Oxazolidinone Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives”

The researchers were honored by Acting Kuwait University President Prof. Fahad Al-Rashidi, in the presence of Acting Vice President for Research Prof. Othman Al-Khudir, and Assistant Vice President for External Research Collaboration and Consultation Dr. Haneen Al-Ghabra, on Tuesday the 11th of April 2023 at the Office of Kuwait University President, Sabah Al-Salem University City – Al-Shadadiya.

Prof. Charles Ezeamuzie from the Department of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine explained that the concept of the patent revolves around the development of a treatment for Asthma and allergies patients, as the currently available treatments for these diseases are not effective due to the fact that each medicine targets one reaction only, and through the patent, a new treatment has been developed which targets both reactions at the same time with great effectiveness and without side effects. The treatment can also reduce inflammation associated with other diseases. Tests have shown that this treatment is more effective than the ones currently available in the medical field (Such as Cromolyn and Zileuton) for Asthma and allergies prevention and treatment. The treatment was initially named PH-25, becoming the most important medication for the treatment of Asthma and allergies.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Prof. Fahad Al-Rashidi congratulated the researchers for their honorable achievement, expressing Kuwait University’s pride in such accomplishment and wishing them further excellence and more achievements in the field of scientific research throughout the coming years.

On his part, Acting Vice President for Research Prof. Othman Al-Khudir explained that scientific progress and sustainable economic development is a product of solid scientific Research which focuses on finding the best innovative solutions. Scientific Research is also the main source for developing new products through patent registration and the acquisition of intellectual property rights. He also added that Kuwait University, represented by the Research Sector, provides the best services to researchers in various disciplines, as well encouragement and continuous support as means to affirm the implementation of sustainable development and the vision of the state of Kuwait 2035.

Assistant Vice President for External Research Collaboration and Consultation Dr. Haneen Al-Ghabra also expressed her pride in the achievement of the two researchers in obtaining a patent from the US Patent Office, extending her thanks to those who contributed to the accomplishment of this invention, which comes in line with the quality standards that Kuwait University seeks in order to raise its global ranking by achieving excellence in line with the needs of the society and the requirements of the labor market. Dr. Haneen Al-Ghabra also encouraged researchers at Kuwait University to carry out more scientific research using the recently activated service “Fast Track”, which is used to reduce the time period for patent registration from five years to one year.