Ana Beloqui, a researcher at the LDRI, was awarded the Prix Galien on 24 May for her work on the oral administration of peptides. Congratulations to her.
Bienvenue - Le Prix Galien (prixgalien-galenusprijs.be)
Based on the observation that many chronic diseases involve the daily injection of drugs and lack of non-invasive alternatives, Ana Beloqui had the idea of developing lipid nanoparticles capable of making a therapeutic peptide cross the intestinal barrier. The potential of nanoparticles to carry drugs has already given rise to a great deal of research... but Ana Beloqui's research is unique in that it shows that these nanoparticles can also play an active role in the treatment of diseases. She has shown that these nanocarriers can stimulate the secretion of peptides such as GLP-1 and GLP-2 and thus have a dual effect, delivering exogenously peptides while also increasing the endogenous production of these ones.