Value Proposition
· Effective: animal studies showed increased survival and decreased tumor burden in liver cancer model.
· Fewer side effects: no immunological reactions or off-target effects
· Multiple targets: targets the cancer-stroma interactions
Unmet Need
· Many current and pipeline cancer therapeutics, including therapeutic miRNAs, rely on targeted delivery of active compounds to the tumor.
· Targeted delivery results in fewer lower systemic dosages of therapeutic drugs, decreasing off target effects.
· Currently, target delivery systems use viral or liposomal delivery systems, but these elicit immunogenic responses and cannot be used to deliver miRNAs in vivo.
· Therefore, there is a need for improved therapeutic delivery systems.
Technology Description
· Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a targeted therapeutic delivery systems using extracellular vesicles (EV).
· EVs are naturally highly abundant in human body fluids, and therefore do not induce immunological reactions or other side effects seen with viral or liposomal delivery approaches.
· Utilizing EVs to deliver miRNAs in vivo has been shown to increase survival and reduce rumor burden in an in vivo liver cancer model without obvious side effects.
· This technology targets cancer-stroma interaction, a target not currently addressed by any FDA-approved therapies.
Stage of Development
· Proof-of-concept demonstrated in animal studies.
Publication
[1] Li, Ling et al. Extracellular Vesicles Carry MicroRNA-195 to Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma and Improve Survival in a Rat Model. Hepatology, 2017; 65:501-514. DOI: 10.1002/hep.28735
[2] Yan, R. et al. Extracellular Vesicles in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Progress and Challenges in the Translation from the Laboratory to Clinic. Medicina, 2023; 59(9), 1599. DOI: 10.3390/medicina59091599
