Jun 18 2010
Officials at NanoBioMagnetics announced today that the company has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation to study the effectiveness of magnetically vectored therapeutics in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancers (LABC).
The research effort represents an ongoing collaboration with scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, who have been co-developing the drug delivery platform. LABC pose a difficult and, as yet, unresolved clinical problem of high incidence, as most patients presenting with this disease will experience disease relapse with poor survival. A significant need exists for advanced therapies that can improve patient outcomes, particularly for inflammatory and triple-negative breast cancers, and the magnetic vectoring technology will offer new options for cancer treatment.
NBMI's magnetic vectoring platform for targeted drug delivery uses external focused magnetic forces to attract magnetically responsive nanoparticles, carrying a therapeutic, directly to a tumor site, followed by extravasation of the nanoparticles and release of the therapeutic agent. In this manner, the group hopes to achieve superior drug levels in the tumor and concomitant anti-tumor effects compared to that of the free drug. The group's initial effort is on the delivery of paclitaxel, a powerful but toxic chemotherapeutic.
The company recently announced the issuance of its second US Patent award for the "Delivery of Bioactive Substances to Target Cells". Jim Klostergaard, Ph.D., the Principal Investigator at MD Anderson, notes that, "The consuming challenge for advanced drug delivery methodologies for cancer treatment is shifting to the targeted delivery of therapeutics, in a manner that improves both the therapeutic effect and reduces toxic events for the patient." He further points out that the urgency and demand for such advanced delivery technologies continues to grow as new classes of pharmaceuticals are being developed and brought to market. Because these new therapeutics will be more effective through targeted delivery, advanced delivery technologies that overcome tumor resistance and support the full drug therapeutic potential must be developed.
"This technology is another example of the growing impact nanotechnology is going to have on our lives", says Charles Seeney, NBMI founder and CEO, "and, this NSF grant will allow us to continue our program in a more aggressive manner. The primary objective of the NSF SBIR Program is to increase the incentive and opportunity for small firms to undertake cutting-edge, high risk, high quality scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education research that would have a high potential economic payoff if the research is successful. The company believes the consumer impact of magnetically vectored therapeutics will be seen in the development of more effective dose forms that can be delivered directly to tumors with minimal harm to healthy tissue.