Nanoform announced today that it partnered with Celanese to explore the use of their technologies in nanoparticle-enabled drug delivery.

Helsinki-based Nanoform said the goal of the collaboration is to assess the combination of its nanoparticle platform technologies with Celanese’s VitalDose EVA copolymer delivery technology for drug-eluting implants, according to a news release.

Both companies intend to use each others’ expertise to work on formulation development to explore next-generation drug delivery devices that support increased drug load and possess enhanced sustained-release properties.

“We are delighted to announce the relationship with Celanese. One of Nanoform’s fundamental goals is to enable next-generation drug therapies using our nanoparticles. Given the inherent difficulty in loading a sufficient amount of drug into many medical devices, we see a tremendous opportunity in using our nanoparticles to overcome this fundamental challenge,” Nanoform CEO Edward Hæggström said in the release. “The potential to leverage the combination of these two technologies to bring new therapies to patients is something we are very excited about.”

“Celanese has a strong history of successfully developing drug-eluting implants for women’s health, ophthalmology, and central nervous system disorders using our VitalDose EVA copolymer delivery technology with proteins, peptides and small molecules,” added Celanese VP of medical & pharmaceuticals Laura Brand. “Exploring Nanoform’s nanoparticle technologies opens up new possibilities for enhancing formulation performance with existing products and for enabling the products of the future. We are pleased to work with Nanoform and hope that these efforts yield innovations we can bring to patients.”