Inflammatory diseases represent one of the most pressing public health problems in our society.
While rheumatoid arthritis is probably the most widely familiar chronic inflammatory disease, other well-known examples are ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, gout, bursitis and tendinitis. These drugs are of variable effectiveness, and are most often palliative rather than truly therapeutic in nature. This technology is a novel approach to the design of new anti-inflammatory agents. It entails inhibiting the enzymes that carry out carboxyl-terminal amidation, a key step in the biosynthesis of neuropeptides are involved in inflammatory processes. Our approach is unique and quite distinct from all other current approaches to anti-inflammatory agents.