CROHNtrol – Local Combination Nanotherapy for Crohn's Disease

Catarina Caetano – Master Student, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (I3S), University of Porto; Rute Nunes – Assistant Researcher, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (I3S), University of Porto; Bruno Sarmento – Principal Investigator, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (I3S), University of Porto

Introduction:

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Current therapies rely on corticosteroids to induce remission, but long-term use causes toxicity, limiting sustained control. CHRONtrol proposes an oral dual-action therapy that combines budesonide (BUD) and teduglutide (TED) into smart nanoparticles (NPs) for local action. BUD reduces inflammation while TED promotes epithelial repair, a combination not yet explored in CD. Both drugs are co-delivered in ROS-responsive NPs to enable site-specific release at inflamed regions, maximizing efficacy and minimizing systemic exposure.