Unmet Need: Systemic delivery of drugs often leads to faster clearance, off-target effects, and system-wide unintended toxicity. Current therapeutics designed to specifically target invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) have a narrow therapeutic index, lack predictive biomarkers, and have serious side effects due to off-target toxicity. This lack of efficacy emphasizes the need to develop a drug-delivery system that is sustainable, has a broadly-applicable specific target, and reduces tumor growth without imposing systemic-wide toxicity, with additional protocol regimens for constant clinical observations.
Technical Details: Current methods for treating IDC outside of traditional chemotherapy are limited to oral administration of drugs that often never reach their target and impose catastrophic destruction to normal tissue. The disclosed technology involves a two-fold target release management system: (1) an injectable solution that forms a hydrogel at the site of injection, and (2) allows for the local and sustained release of targeted liposomes that are loaded with different drugs. These liposomes contain target-specific peptides to increase uptake almost exclusively by IDC cells, limiting off-target toxicity and increasing drug delivery. Data demonstrates complete characterization of drug-delivery capacity, and increased efficacy of the therapeutic cocktail in organoids and two mouse models.
Value Proposition:
· Sustained drug release: System allows for local and sustained release of nanoparticles loaded with drugs
· Limited systemic toxicity: No toxicity observed in healthy organs after local delivery of hydrogel-nanoparticle system loaded with a chemotherapeutic and toxic inhibitor
· Improved cancer targeting: Decreased metastatic capabilities and reduction of cancer proliferation
Looking for Partners to: Commercialize the technology as a cancer drug delivery platform
Stage of Development:
· In vitro experiments have been conducted using organoids
· In vivo experiments have been conducted using 2 mouse models bearing orthotopic triple negative breast cancer tumors
Data Availability: Publications containing in vitro and in vivo data listed below
Inventors:
· Efrosini Kokkoli
· Denis Wirtz
· Gabriella Russo
· Paul Kuhn
Patent Status: Provisional patent application filed
Publication(s):
- Kuhn, P.M., Russo, G.C. et al., Pharmaceutics (2024)
- Shabana, A. et al., International Journal of Pharmaceutics (2021).
- Vidyasagar, A. et al., American Chemical Society Macro Letters (2017).
