U of M graduates Lorne M. Golub (DMD/63) and N.S. Ramamurthy (PhD/70), co-inventors of PerioStat, won approval in fall, 1998, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the drug designed to heal gum disease. It is the first FDA-approved oral drug for periodontitis, which afflicts millions worldwide. Gum disease is the leading cause of gum and tooth loss, which Americans spend $6 billion a year to treat.