Category Archives: Nano Medicine

It's rare for researchers to discover a new class of drugs, but a University of Calgary microbiology professor recently did so -- by accident and now hopes to revolutionize autoimmune disease treatment.

In 2004, Dr. Pere Santamaria and his research lab team at the Cumming School of Medicine conducted an experiment to image a mouse pancreas, using nanoparticles coated in pancreatic proteins.

The work didnt go as planned.

Our experiment was a complete failure, he recently told CTV Calgary. We were actually quite depressed, frustrated about the outcome of that.

But the team was surprised to discover the nanoparticles had a major effect on the mice: resetting their immune systems.

The team realized that, by using nanoparticles, they can deliver disease-specific proteins to white blood cells, which will then go on to reprogram the cells to actively suppress the disease.

Whats more, the nanoparticles stop the disease without compromising the immune system, as current treatments often do.

Santamarias team believes nanomedicine drugs can be modified to treat all kinds of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Convinced that nanomedicine has the potential to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry, Santamaria founded a company to explore the possibilities, called Parvus Therapeutics Inc.

This past spring, Novartis, one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies, entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Parvus to fund the process of developing nanomedicine.

Under the terms of the agreement, Parvus will receive research funding to support its clinical activities, while Novartis receives worldwide rights to use Parvus technology to develop and commercialize products for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Its a good partnership, Santamaria said in a University of Calgary announcement. Bringing a drug to market requires science as well as money.

Santamaria cant say how long it might be before nanomedicine can be used to create human therapies, but he says everyone involved is working aggressively to make it happen.

With a report from CTV Calgarys Kevin Fleming

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'Nanomedicine': Potentially revolutionary class of drugs are made-in-Canada - CTV News

When Dr. Pere Santamaria arrived in Calgary in 1992 to join the Cumming School of Medicine, he never could have imagined he would make a groundbreaking discovery that would lead to a spinoff company. When I arrived, I found out that the grant money I was expecting hadnt come through, says Santamaria, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases and member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. So I had an empty lab with no research assistants and no salary. I had to beg my supervisor to give me $10,000 to start my research.

Despite the rocky start, Santamaria has achieved something many scientists dream of making a discovery that has practical applications for health care. Santamarias discovery revolves around the use of nanoparticles coated in proteins to treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

They can be modified for different diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis without compromising the entire immune system, Santamaria explains. Instead, they basically work to reset the immune system.

Nanomedicines unique mechanism has the potential to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry entirely. Developing a new class of drugs is rare. With the assistance of Innovate Calgary, Santamaria started a company, Parvus Therapeutics Inc., to represent the technology and explore ways of bringing it to market. Announced in April 2017, Parvus entered into an exclusive deal with the Swiss pharma giant Novartis, hopefully leading to the development and commercialization of Parvuss nanomedicine to treat Type 1 diabetes.

Its a good partnership, Santamaria says. Bringing a drug to market requires science as well as money.

Supporting commercialization should be a top priority for all research, he continues. Our biggest responsibility is to the patients and making sure they have access to the medicine they need. With that in mind, Santamaria shares his insight for other researchers who may be interested in bringing their discoveries from the lab bench to the market.

If youre interested in investigating spin-out opportunities, get in touch with Innovate Calgary, which offers mentors, coaching, business skill development programs, intellectual property services and other back-office support.

Throughout the years, Santamarias work has been funded by numerous organizations, including Diabetes Canada, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Diabetes Association, Foothills.He is a member of the Snyder Institute and associate member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute.Santamaria named his company Parvus from the Greek word meaning small.

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UCalgary researcher signs deal to develop nanomedicines for treatment of Type 1 diabetes - UCalgary News

What Debra Travers really wanted to be was a marine biologist, until I found out Jacques Cousteau wasnt hiring.

How she wound up as chief executive of PolyAurum LLC, a Philadelphia start-up developing biodegradable gold nanoparticles for treating cancerous tumors, involved a professional journey of more than 30 years in pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries, and a personal battle with the disease shes now in business to defeat.

After determining that studying sea creatures was not a viable career choice, Travers a military kid from all over switched her major at Cedar Crest College in Allentown to medical technology. She graduated in 1979, then worked for three years in a hospital laboratory until she concluded she didnt like shift work and could do more.

What followed was an impressive career progression: Travers started as a chemistry technician at DuPont Biomedical Products Division, advancing to executive positions in marketing and product development at Centocor, GlaxoSmithKline, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and IMS Health.

Much of that work involved bringing new products through the long development and regulation-heavy process from concept to launch, with experience in therapeutic areas including oncology, urology, pain medicine, cardiology, and rheumatology. In an industry of specialty silos, Travers developed a uniquely blended expertise in marketing and R&D.

It was on March 23, 2006, that her health-care vocation turned personal: Travers, then a 50-year-old mother of two, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

An oncologist recommended a double mastectomy, removal of both ovaries, and chemotherapy. The tearful pleadings of her daughter, Kelly, then 18 I need you here when I graduate college, when I get married, when I have kids persuaded Travers to follow that recommendation.

She returned to work at Endo for seven more years, as a director in project management, before being laid off in June 2013, one month before her daughters wedding. The break gave Travers time to concentrate on the big event and to start to think what Id like to do when I grow up.

That process would lead her in late 2015 to PolyAurum, a start-up spun out of the University of Pennsylvania.

I became a CEO and a grandmother in the same year, said Travers, now 61, chuckling during a recent interview at the Pennovation Center incubator in West Philadelphia. From there, her home in Delaware, and the sites of pitch opportunities with investors, she is working to raise $1.3 million in seed funding by early in the fourth quarter, to help get PolyAurum closer to clinical trials on humans.

So far, research and testing funded through $4 million in grants to the university has been limited to mice with tumors. It has shown that gold nanocrystals greatly enhance the effectiveness of radiation on tumors without increasing harm to healthy surrounding tissue, said Jay Dorsey, an associate professor and radiation oncologist at Penn and one of four university faculty who developed the technology.

The effectiveness of metals in improving a tumors ability to absorb radiation has long been known, Dorsey said. But one of the stumbling blocks to incorporating gold nanoparticles in such therapeutics is that the metal is not eliminated from the body well, posing serious problems to vital organs such as the liver and spleen.

Penns David Cormode, a professor of radiology, and Andrew Tsourkas, a professor of bioengineering, have worked to make gold more biocompatible, resulting in PolyAurums current technology, Dorsey said. The gold nanocrystals are contained in a biodegradable polymer that allows enough metal to collect in a tumor. The polymer then breaks down, releasing the gold for excretion from the body so that it does not build up in key organs.

The companys name is a combination of those two essential ingredients: Poly, derived from polymer, and Aurum, the Latin word for gold.

Explaining all that, and the potential that PolyAurums founders see for extending and saving lives, is the message Travers now is in charge of disseminating the part of the critical path to commercialization that is not the strength of most researchers toiling in laboratories.

She knows what the founders dont know it just makes a perfect match, said Michael Dishowitz, portfolio manager at PCI Ventures, an arm of Penn that helps university start-ups find investors, recruit management, and get to market.

Since its formation about eight years ago, PCI has helped more than 150 companies secure more than $100 million in funding, said Dishowitz, who has a doctoratein bioengineering from Penn and spent several years studying the impact of cell-signaling pathways on orthopedic injury.

While calling PolyAurums technology cool and very transformative for treatment, Dishowitz also delivered a dose of reality about the rigors ahead, as health-care start-ups must navigate a course with no guarantees their products will lead to actual clinical implementation.

PolyAurum is one of 13 companies that entered Philadelphia Media Networks second annual Stellar StartUps competition in the health-care/life sciences category. A total of nine categories drew 88 applicants. The winners will be announced Sept. 12 at an event at the Franklin Institutes Fels Planetarium. (Details at http://www.philly.com/stellarstartups.)

A lot has to go right, all the planets and stars have to align for this to hit the market, Dishowitz said of PolyAurums commercial prospects.

Which is why the team behind any start-up is so essential to investors, he said, calling Travers interest in joining a company that has yet been unable to pay her (she has equity in PolyAurum) incredibly lucky.

Margo Reed

At the Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Lab at Penn Medicine are (front row, from left) Jay Dorsey, a radiation oncologist and a founder of PolyAurum; Debra Travers, CEO; and Andrew Tsourkas, another founder of PolyAurum; and (back row, from left) Michael Dishowitz, portfolio manager, PCI Ventures at Penn; and David Cormode, lab director and PolyAurum founder. (MARGO REED / Staff Photographer)

The only thing Travers corporate-heavy background lacked, he said, was raising money for a start-up. It doesnt worry him, Dishowitz said, citing Travers perseverance, no-quit attitude.

When youre out there raising money, youre going to hear no about 100, 150 times before you hear yes, Dishowitz said.

When it comes to pitching for PolyAurum, Travers has extra incentive.

I am working on a cancer therapeutic, which is very important to the 11-year cancer survivor in me, she said.

As for handling nos, shes had plenty of professional experience with that.

After spending 30-plus years in the drug and diagnostic industries, where it is hard to find women CEOs or board members, Travers said, Ive learned to ignore the negative voices.

When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Where: Fels Planetarium, Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St., Philadelphia 19103

For more information: http://www.philly.com/stellarstartups

Published: July 28, 2017 3:01 AM EDT

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Cancer survivor becomes a cancer fighter at a Philly start-up - Philly.com

There has been a growing interest in the different applications of nanomaterials in the field of medicine. An article published in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine showed the ways in which Laponite, a synthetic clay made of nanomaterials, can be of use in clinical practice.

Current advances in technology have provided many opportunities to develop new devices that improve the practice of medicine. There has been a growing interest in the different applications of nanomaterials in the field of medicine.

An article published in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine reviewed Laponite, a non-toxic synthetic clay composed of nanomaterials which has different uses in the field of medicine. Laponite can be used in drug delivery systems, as the synthetic clay protects substances from degradation in physiologic environments. Different experiments show that Laponite is effective not only in protecting drugs from degradation, but also in transporting and releasing drugs into the body. The degradation of Laponite in the physiologic environment also releases products which have biological roles, especially in bone formation.

Laponite has been shown to induce osteogenic differentiation of cells in the absence of other factors which are known to promote differentiation and cell growth. The application of nanomaterials in bioimaging has also been studied. In one experiment, Laponite was incorporated with gadolinum, a dye used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resulting in brighter images and prolonged contrast enhancement for 1 hour post-injection. Laponite has also proven to be of use in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This synthetic clay can elicit specific biologic responses, act as a carrier for biochemical factors, and improve the mechanical properties of scaffolds used for tissue growth.

In summary, nanomaterials and synthetic clays such as Laponite have many applications in the field of medicine. Although current published literature state no toxic effects on the human body, further studies are needed to assess safety before it can be applied to clinical practice.

Written By:Karla Sevilla

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Application of Nanomaterials in the Field of Medicine - Medical News Bulletin

Nanotechnology is one of the most promising technologies in 21st century. Nanotechnology is a term used when technological developments occur at 0.1 to 100 nm scale. Nano medicine is a branch of nanotechnology which involves medicine development at molecular scale for diagnosis, prevention, treatment of diseases and even regeneration of tissues and organs. Thus it helps to preserve and improve human health. Nanomedicine offers an impressive solution for various life threatening diseases such as cancer, Parkinson, Alzheimer, diabetes, orthopedic problems, diseases related to blood, lungs, neurological, and cardiovascular system.

Development of a new nenomedicine takes several years which are based on various technologies such as dendrimers, micelles, nanocrystals, fullerenes, virosome nanoparticles, nanopores, liposomes, nanorods, nanoemulsions, quantum dots, and nanorobots.

In the field of diagnosis, nanotechnology based methods are more precise, reliable and require minimum amount of biological sample which avoid considerable reduction in consumption of reagents and disposables. Apart from diagnosis, nanotechnology is more widely used in drug delivery purpose due to nanoscale particles with larger surface to volume ratio than micro and macro size particle responsible for higher drug loading. Nano size products allow to enter into body cavities for diagnosis or treatment with minimum invasiveness and increased bioavailability. This will not only improve the efficacy of treatment and diagnosis, but also reduces the side effects of drugs in case of targeted therapy.

Global nanomedicine market is majorly segmented on the basis of applications in medicines, targeted disease and geography. Applications segment includes drug delivery (carrier), drugs, biomaterials, active implant, in-vitro diagnostic, and in-vivo imaging. Global nanomedicine divided on the basis of targeted diseases or disorders in following segment: neurology, cardiovascular, oncology, anti-inflammatory, anti-infective and others. Geographically, nanomedicine market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA. Considering nanomedicine market by application, drug delivery contribute higher followed by in-vitro diagnostics. Global nanomedicine market was dominated by oncology segment in 2012 due to ability of nanomedicine to cross body barriers and targeted to tumors specifically however cardiovascular nanomedicine market is fastest growing segment. Geographically, North America dominated the market in 2013 and is expected to maintain its position in the near future. Asia Pacific market is anticipated to grow at faster rate due to rapid increase in geriatric population and rising awareness regarding health care. Europe is expected to grow at faster rate than North America due to extensive product pipeline portfolio and constantly improving regulatory framework.

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Major drivers for nanomedicine market include improved regulatory framework, increasing technological know-how and research funding, rising government support and continuous increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, kidney disorder, and orthopedic diseases. Some other driving factors include rising number of geriatric population, awareness of nanomedicine application and presence of high unmet medical needs. Growing demand of nanomedicines from the end users is expected to drive the market in the forecast period. However, market entry of new companies is expected to bridge the gap between supply and demand of nanomedicines. Above mentioned drivers currently outweigh the risk associated with nanomedicines such as toxicity and high cost. At present, cancer is one of the major targeted areas in which nanomedicines have made contribution. Doxil, Depocyt, Abraxane, Oncospar, and Neulasta are some of the examples of pharmaceuticals formulated using nanotechnology.

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Key players in the global nanomedicine market include: Abbott Laboratories, CombiMatrix Corporation, GE Healthcare, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt plc, Merck & Company, Inc., Nanosphere, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Celgene Corporation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and UCB (Union chimique belge) S.A.

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Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market Expected to Generate Huge Profits by 2015 2021: Persistence ... - MilTech

July 3, 2017 by Ryan O'hare Nanomedicine could help patients with fatal lung conditions. Credit: Imperial College London

Metallic nanomolecules capable of carrying drugs to exactly where they are needed could one day help to treat patients with a fatal lung condition.

Scientists based at Imperial College London have tested a new type of nanoparticle called metal organic frameworks (MOF) tiny metal cages less than 100 nanometres across that can be loaded with drug molecules which they believe could potentially be used to treat patients with a devastating condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

In PAH the blood vessels of the lungs constrict and thicken, increasing blood pressure and causing the right side of the heart to work harder and harder, until it eventually fails. The condition is rare but devastating and can affect people of all ages, including babies, young adults and the elderly. Patients in the late stage of the disease have few treatment options beyond transplant, with a mean survival time of around five years following diagnosis.

While there is no cure for PAH, existing treatments work by opening up these blood vessels. These drugs act on blood vessels throughout the body, however, causing blood pressure to drop and resulting in a number of side effects which means the dose at which these drugs can be given is limited.

In their latest study, published online in Pulmonary Circulation, the multidisciplinary group at Imperial describes how it has taken the first in a number of steps to develop nanoparticles which could deliver drugs directly to the lungs, showing that the basic structures are not harmful to cells.

Professor Jane Mitchell, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial, who led the research, said: "The hope is that using this approach will ultimately allow for high concentrations of drugs we already have to be delivered to only the vessels in the lung, and reduce side effects. For patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, it could mean we are able to turn it from a fatal condition, to a chronic manageable one."

Metallic cages for drug delivery

The tiny metallic structures composed of iron were made in the lab of Professor Paul Lickiss and Dr Rob Davies's, from the Department of Chemistry and by Dr Nura Mohamed during her PhD studies at Imperial. Dr Mohamed, who was funded by the Qatar Foundation, made the structures so existing drugs used to treat PAH could fit inside them.

These structures were tested in human lung cells and blood vessel cells, which were grown from stem cells in the blood of patients with PAH. The team found that the structures reduced inflammation and were not toxic to the cells.

Further tests showed that the MOFs were safe in rats, with animals injected with MOFs over a two-week period showing few side effects other than a slight build-up of iron in the liver.

"One of the biggest limitations in nanomedicine is toxicity, some of best nanomedicine structures do not make it past the initial stages of development as they kill cells," said Professor Mitchell. "We made these prototype MOFs, and have shown they were not toxic to a whole range of human lung cells."

MOFs are an area of interest in nanomedicine, with engineers aiming to develop them as carriers which can hold onto drug cargo, releasing it under specific conditions, such as changes in pH, temperature, or even when the nanostructures are drawn to the target area by magnets outside the body.

Beyond the finding that their iron nanostructures were non-toxic, the team believes the MOFs may have additional therapeutic properties. There was evidence to suggest anti-inflammatory properties, with the MOFs reducing the levels of an inflammatory marker in the blood vessels, called endothelin-1, which causes arteries to constrict. In addition, iron is also a contrast agent, meaning it would show up on scans of the lungs to show where the drug had reached.

The MOFs have not yet been tested in patients, but the next step is to load the tiny metallic structures with drugs and work out the best way to get them to target their cargo to the lungs. The researchers are confident that if successful, the approach could move to trials for patients, with a drug candidate ready to test within the next five years. The MOFs could potentially be delivered by an inhaler into the lung, or administered by injection.

"In this study we have proved the principle that this type of carrier has the potential to be loaded with a drug and targeted to the lung," explained Professor Mitchell. "This is fundamental research and while this particular MOF might not be the one that makes it to a drug to treat PAH, our work opens up the idea that this disease should be considered with an increased research effort for targeted drug delivery."

Explore further: Longer-lasting pain relief with MOFs

More information: Nura A. Mohamed et al. Chemical and biological assessment of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) in pulmonary cells and in an acute in vivo model: relevance to pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy, Pulmonary Circulation (2017). DOI: 10.1177/2045893217710224

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