Value Proposition
· Restoration of pro-repair cell dynamics: targets the high mucus viscosity that drives exacerbation of muco-obstructive lung diseases (COPD, CF, IPF)
· Addresses biophysical mechanism of disease development: disrupts the counter-reparative mechanosignaling pathway activated by elevated mucus viscosity
· Cell type-specific delivery: suppression of mechano-activation in fibroblasts and immune cells and promotion of cell motility in epithelial cells
Unmet Need
Patients with muco-obstructive lung diseases often have abnormally viscous mucus that not only blocks airways and fosters infection but also actively drives inflammation, fibroblast activation, fibrosis, and impaired epithelial repair via mechanotransduction pathways. Current treatments focus almost exclusively on biochemical abnormalities and do not address this biophysical pathology (high mucus viscosity) or the downstream mechanosignaling it triggers (e.g., YAP activation), contributing to persistently high morbidity and mortality. There is a critical need for therapies that directly counter viscosity-induced mechanosignaling (suppressing fibroblast and immune cell activation while restoring epithelial motility) to rebalance wound healing and limit fibrosis. Effective delivery systems that can penetrate thick, viscous mucus and target cell types selectively are also lacking and needed to make such biophysical therapies feasible.
Technology Description
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are developing a mucus‑penetrating, liposomal therapeutic platform to treat muco‑obstructive lung diseases by counteracting viscosity‑induced mechanosignaling in airway cells. The liposomal carriers are engineered to rapidly penetrate viscous mucus and deliver cell type-specific payloads to counteract the essential role that high mucus viscosity plays in disease progression. Some therapeutic agents will suppress mechano‑activation and viscosity-enhanced migration in fibroblasts, macrophages, and neutrophils, while complementary agents enhance epithelial cell motility and re‑epithelialization. This multi‑target engagement aims to rebalance wound healing and limit fibrosis and inflammation. Administered locally to the airway surface, these functionalized liposomes enable focal treatment within diseased mucus with minimal systemic exposure.
Stage of Development
Preclinical proof-of-concept experiments have been completed.
Data Availability
Data available upon request.
Publication
Pending patent application, WO 2025/024590
