Testing the world's first teething treatment drug

This is the first time in the world that this drug has been tested on humans, providing opportunities for many people who are born with tooth loss or cannot regrow lost teeth for some reason.

If successful, this drug will provide a third option for people with congenital tooth loss. (Illustration).

According to a reporter in Japan, it is expected that testing will be conducted at Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto Prefecture, to confirm the safety of teething medicine developed by Toregem Biopharma. The working principle of this teething medicine is to use an antibody to act on a protein that inhibits normal tooth development. In previous animal experiments, this drug was found to stimulate tooth buds in the jawbone, helping teeth grow normally.

According to the plan, the first phase of testing will be conducted next September on 30 healthy adult men who have been confirmed to have difficulty growing teeth in damaged positions. Next, in the second phase of testing to be carried out in 2025, Toregem Biopharma will coordinate with a hospital in Osaka city and a medical research institute to evaluate the effectiveness on patients with the disease. Congenital tooth loss between the ages of 2 and 7 years old. Until now, these patients have no treatment options and are forced to wear dentures according to their age or have artificial tooth implant surgery in adulthood.

Adults normally have 28 teeth, not including 4 wisdom teeth, and if there are fewer than 6, the person may have congenital tooth loss. According to estimates by Toregem Biopharma, about 0.1% of adults in Japan have this disease. If not treated early, this disease can cause difficulty chewing food, even cause jaw bone atrophy, and so far there is no specific treatment.

According to a representative of Toregem Biopharma, if tested on humans successfully, this drug will provide a third option for people with this disease, after the option of wearing dentures or artificial tooth implant surgery, at a low cost. about 1.5 million yen (nearly 10,000 USD) and can be covered by health insurance.