Ileal Bile Acid Co-Transporter

Dr. Paul Dawson's laboratory at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine has cloned a gene which expresses the ileal bile acid transporter (IBAT) molecule. IBAT is naturally occurring in the body and is involved in the absorption of cholesterol from the small intestine. It is also found in the kidneys where it is involved in the return of bile from the kidneys to the liver. IBAT is currently being used in industry as a tool for discovering new pharmaceutical products. Wake Forest has licensed the use of this technology in the areas of lipid lowering, liver disease, oral bioavailability and gene therapy. This technology and its uses are covered in-part by United States Patents 5,589,358 and 5,869,265 which are owned by Wake Forest University.