Mesalazine

An anti-inflammatory agent, structurally related to the salicylates and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like acetylsalicylic acid, which is active in inflammatory bowel disease . Although demonstrably effective in treating and maintaining remission for ulcerative colitis, mesalazine has historically faced a number of issues regarding its lack of stability as a pharmaceutical agent . Throughout the late seventies and the eighties, important research initiatives developed stable mesalazine formulations like the eudragit-S coating of Asacol brand mesalazine and the Pentasa brand's encapsulation of mesalazine within microgranules . In the present day, contemporary research regarding novel methods to stabilize mesalazine continues and interest in the agent's capacity to decrease inflammatory activity and subsequently potentially reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in conditions like ulcerative colitis is maintained.