Research Projects

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease affecting 125 million patients worldwide. It is associated with psychological, metabolic, arthritic, and cardiovascular comorbidities, leading to reduced life expectancy. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized psoriasis as a serious non-communicable disease since 2014, affecting 2-3% of the total population. About 70-80% of patients suffer from mild to moderate psoriasis, which can be effectively managed with topical treatments. In moderate to severe cases, UV or systemic anti-inflammatory or biological therapies are usually required. Cyclosporine is one of the most effective systemic drugs for treating plaque psoriasis, but its dose-dependent response is dose-dependent and can lead to adverse events like hypertension and nephrotoxicity. several attempts have been made to develop a topical formulation of cyclosporine for psoriasis patients, but this has been challenging due to its unfavorable physicochemical properties. In collaboration with Panjab University, investigators at PGIMER have developed a topical liposomal formulation of cyclosporine, which demonstrated significant efficacy and satisfactory safety in psoriasis patients. This study aims to evaluate the in vitro, systemic, and dermato-pharmacokinetics (DPK) of topical cyclosporine in psoriasis patients and healthy human volunteers. The lipogel formulation can be further optimized to develop a novel treatment option for psoriasis patients, leading to the development of a "first in the country" academic center for comprehensive dermatopharmacokinetic studies.