Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have developed a nanoparticle vaccine immunotherapy that fights multiple cancer types, according to a preclinical study published in Nature Nanotechnology. The nanovaccine, which the team calls a 1st of its kind, is made up of tumor antigens inside of a synthetic polymer nanoparticle. “What is unique about […]
Preclinical Trials
Targeted drug delivery system releases chemo drug for 40 days
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a targeted drug delivery system that is triggered by the acidic environment around a tumor. The system delivers chemotherapy to the tumor for 40 days and doesn’t affect healthy tissues, according to a preclinical study published in Experimental Biology and Medicine. Traditional cancer therapy sometimes requires patients to receive […]
Parvus inks exclusive license with Novartis for T1D nanomedicine
Parvus Therapeutics said today that it signed an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration deal with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) for its type 1 diabetes nanodrug, Navacim. The therapeutic candidate is made up of iron oxide nanoparticles coated with a peptide derived from a pancreatic autoantigen, according to Parvus. Navacims are the 1st biopharmaceuticals to restore immune tolerance through […]
Study: Biodegradable nanoparticles reprogram immune cells to fight cancer
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Researcher Center have reportedly engineered biodegradable nanoparticles that can genetically reprogram immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, without taking the immune cells out to manipulate them. The team demonstrated their idea in a proof-of-principle study published in Nature Nanotechnology. They showed that reprogrammed immune cells, or T cells, help […]
Nanoparticle nasal spray targets drugs to the brain
Drug delivery to the brain could 1 day be as simple as a sniff, according to engineers at Washington University that developed a new nanoparticle-based delivery technique. “This would be a nanoparticle nasal spray, and the delivery system could allow a therapeutic dose of medicine to reach the brain within 30 minutes to one hour,” […]
Nanoparticles permeate lungs to deliver pulmonary drugs
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have developed nanoparticles that can shuttle chemicals through the thick mucus membranes of pulmonary airways to deliver drugs. The team’s work was published in the journal Science Advances. Traditional therapies for cystic fibrosis, COPD and asthma include inhaled corticosteroids that adhere to the walls of air passages. Thick mucus tends to build […]
3D model of female reproductive system could help test drugs for efficacy, safety
In January last year, the National Institutes of Health issued a new requirement for grant funding in basic science: Researchers must discuss how gender as a biological variable will impact their research. Teresa Woodruff, director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University, told Drug Delivery Business News that this helped support their effort to develop a model that […]
Researchers tout preclinical results for one-shot vaccination method
Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital said today that they achieved strong vaccine responses in preclinical models by adding adjuvants to boost the immune response. The team’s work was published the Journal of Clinical Investigation-Insight and the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Vaccines have the potential to drastically reduce infant mortality, the researchers said, but newborns often don’t […]
Do patient advocacy organizations have a conflict of interest?
At least 83% of U.S. patient advocacy organizations receive financial support from medical device, drug and biotechnology companies, according to new research out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. The Penn research team – which included Matthew McCoy, Harald Schmidt and Ezekiel Emanuel – examined websites and annual reports for 104 organizations […]
Avrobio launches gene therapy program for Gaucher disease
Cambridge, Mass.-based Avrobio said today that it expanded its pipeline to include a preclinical program focused on a gene therapy for Gaucher disease. The investigational gene therapy makes use of a patient’s blood stem cells, genetically modifying them with a fully functional copy of the faulty gene responsible for the glucosylceramide accumulation that is characteristic […]
