Finally, in the 1990s, several drug companies developed medicines to block the action, or prevent the body from making the punishing compounds. Zeneca, a British drug firm, made and tested Accolate in Ireland, Japan, Finland, and the United States. It began as pure research without any known practical application, and gradually evolved into something that offers a major benefit to society. But Accolate blocks the leukotrienes that produce spasms and swellings of the smooth muscles in the first place. After 40 years of work, it's very gratifying to know you have made a significant contribution to the management of this disease.
Future drugs based on the same biology and chemistry promise even more relief.
Merck is testing a longer lasting leukotriene blocker. This year, Austen's group became the first to clone human genes responsible for making the slow-acting leukotrienes. But we didn't know how the molecules worked or what they might look like. The latter was necessary if new drugs were going to be developed to counteract their activity. It turns out that the irritating leukotrienes come from cells of the immune system that line the airways and gut.