IADR and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare announce winners

Alexandria, Va. – The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare today announced the 2008 winners of the annual IADR/GSK Innovation in Oral Care Awards. The three prestigious awards recognize research in innovative oral care technologies that may maintain and improve oral health and the quality of life.

Sharing the $225,000 unrestricted research grant, which is funded by GSK Consumer Healthcare and administered by the IADR, are:

• Urban Hagg, D.D.S., The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, University of Hong Kong, China, and co-investigators Ricky Wong, Lakshman Samaranayake, Richard Kao, and Michelle Yuen for “A Natural Edible Agent for Reduction of Oral Biofilm.” This research study will look at Prunus mume, a common fruit in Asia, and its effectiveness in inhibiting bacteria commonly found in oral biofilm. If shown to be effective, Prunus mume will be accepted as a natural oral biofilm-reducing agent, which would ultimately help in the prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease.

• Keith Kirkwood, D.D.S., Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, for “Targeting Post-transcriptional Signaling for Periodontitis.” This research study will explore the role of posttranscriptional cytokine regulation in periodontal inflammation and bone loss, which may yield new possibilities for the treatment of periodontal diseases and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

• David T.W. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Dentistry, and coinvestigators Wei Lao and Fang Wei for “SPITDX: A Universal Platform for Salivary Biomarker Detection.” This research project aims to develop a universal platform, where salivary biomarkers associated with disease phenotypes can be rapidly detected in under five minutes. This platform will allow scientific results to be transferred faster, allowing patients who suffer from oral and systemic diseases to be notified sooner and receive the most informative diagnostics.

This year, the IADR/GSK Innovation in Oral Care Awards received 35 applications from teams of researchers from around the globe. Each application was reviewed by a panel of experts under the chairmanship of Dr. Mariano Sanz, Dean, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Dental School.

The awards will be presented during the 86th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, to be held July 2-5, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“GlaxoSmithKline is privileged to work with the IADR in providing the Innovation in Oral Care Awards to help such talented teams of researchers develop new treatments and products,” said Dr. David Alexander, Director of Global Dental Professional Relations for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. “The IADR membership comprises some of the most innovative scientists and clinicians in the field of oral health. All three winning entries address very significant quality-of-life issues, and GSK hopes that these innovative concepts will one day be widely available as new products to improve the lives of those suffering from disease.”

“On behalf of the IADR, I thank GSK and Dr. David Alexander for making possible this unique and prestigious award program,” said IADR President Deborah Greenspan. “Under the excellent direction of Dr. Mariano Sanz, the committee reviewed many outstanding research projects, and we are pleased that the winning projects fit the key criterion for this award, namely, the potential of the proposed research for translation to publicly available and cost-effective therapies in the medium term.”

In this the fifth year of these awards, the grant from GSK has supported 13 teams from the United States, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hong Kong, Israel and Iceland with over $1 million to further their research. In addition, applications have been received from over 190 teams of researchers from over 26 countries, all of which have been focused on better oral health and improved quality of life.

The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a non-profit organization with more than 10,500 individual members worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing knowledge to improve oral health, (2) supporting the oral health research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and application of research findings for the improvement of oral health worldwide. To learn more about the IADR, visit www.iadr.org.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world’s largest over-the-counter healthcare products. Its well-known global brands include Aquafresh®, Sensodyne®, Polident® and PoliGrip®.

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. To learn more about GlaxoSmithKline, visit www.gsk.com.