[nanoPost] Affinity-based drug delivery

Company USA

The human body is a complex organism. This complexity is possible because interacting proteins, peptides, hormones, and other molecules have specific roles. This specificity can be illustrated by the "lock and key" analogy. The biochemist, on the otherhand, understands and explains molecule specificity through the "dissociation constant", one measurement of affinity between interacting molecules. We take advantage of the differential affinities that exist between interacting molecules in our design of optimal carrier molecules, our drug delivery vehicles, thus creating or enabling potentially superior therapies to treat human disease.

The company's approach to drug delivery focuses on three key interactions, quantified by a dissociation constant (or "Kd") or its reciprocal, the association constant ("Ka"):

A) "Receptor and Drug" - this interaction should have high affinity (the highest of the three for a good therapy, a therapy with minimal side effects).

B) "Carrier and Drug" - this interaction should have strong affinity, but weaker than that of a drug and target receptor (so the drug remains a payload until the stronger affinity of the target receptor is present). We can control this interaction to a great extent.

C) "Unintended target and Drug" - this interaction should be the weakest of all three. The affinity between a chosen drug and an unwanted target(s) should play a very minor role in releasing drug payload from the carrier, i.e. the carrier holds drug payload tightly until the higher affinity strength interaction with a target receptor is encountered.

The company's proprietary, and patented, drug delivery platform emphasizes the importance of exploiting the difference between affinities, so that: A > B > C (affinity strengths for each interaction).

Simplistically, they create carrier molecules to hold a drug payload, shepherd that payload to its intended target, and then release the drug. Biochemically, our drug delivery carrier molecules are designed to release a drug "payload" under conditions favoring the kinetics/thermodynamics surrounding an effective interaction between a drug and its intended target. The drug delivery strategy and technology helps lower unintended interactions, interactions or reactions that are often responsible for undesirable side effects of a drug.

Technology
The product is a carrier with a "backbone" of poly-amino acids and multiple "shields" that protect the active drug. The drug molecule can be bound to the product backbone by covalent binding (with chemical modification of the drug) however, the use of reversible binding (PRB) to load a drug to the carrier is most often the most advantageous (and accomplished often without any active agent modification). Delivery of drugs via the nano-carrier can increase bloodstream circulation time and enable site-specific delivery, enhancing efficacy and patient convenience. The  drug carrier can also decrease the side effects of toxic drugs.

Advantages

BROADLY APPLICABLE

Approach and technologies can be applied to potent small molecules, peptides, or even proteins.

Importantly, only a few families of carrier molecule designs are needed to bind and satisfy most drug candidate requirements. Also, carrier design and binding chemistries can be manipulated to create new therapeutic approaches .

UNIQUE, AFFINITY-BASED DRUG RELEASE:

Approach focuses on releasing a drug payload from our carrier molecules appropriately, not just "slow-release" over time.

NEW DRUG FORMULATIONS CREATED QUICKLY:

Drug delivery carrier molecules, are designed to imbue optimal, desired drug characteristics. For example,optimize drug pharmacokinetics may need improvement, or drug solubility and bioavailability may be the objective.

Platform is flexible and can formulate new therapies in months, not years that are often needed. Many drug payloads may be loaded and reformulated in a matter of a few months. Other drugs needing carrier or binding chemistry manipulation can be formulated in four to six months, typically. After a formulation has been created and characterized, the new drug formulation is ready for validation in the appropriate in vitro and/or in vivo model system prior to preparation and filing.

Using the reversible binding approach to drug loading (to a carrier) may also minimize the amount of toxicity and clinical testing required when approved drugs are formulated with PGC carriers - potentially reducing laboratory and regulatory costs and accelerating time to market.

BIOCOMPATIBLE, BIODEGRADABLE, NON-TOXIC, NON-IMMUNOGENIC:

The companys carrier molecules - due to their chemical design and composition - are expected to be non-toxic, non-immunogenic, and have broad capability.

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