Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Biodelivery Materials of Laramie Receives Funding

Biodelivery Materials, LLC, of Laramie, Wyo., received funding recently that will help it continue its research into an improved drug delivery method for chemotherapy patients.
The company received a $5,000 Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI) Phase 0 award to help them assemble and submit a proposal to the National Institute of Health/ National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a NCI Phase I SBIR award.
Biodelivery Materials is working to mitigate the side effects of the harsh drugs used in treatment for cancer chemotherapy patients by encapsulating the active drug in nanoparticles made from synthetic polymers. The polymers can aggregate into tiny, spherical “nanocapsules” that capture drug molecules in their cores, and can shield the drug while it is in the body until it can be delivered directly to the tumor. As a result, healthy tissue is exposed to far less drug, creating the potential for higher doses with fewer side effects.
Zachary Tyrrell, Biodelivery Materials project manager, said this concept has been demonstrated as effective by numerous researchers; however, the development of viable treatments using drug-loaded nanoparticles has been limited in part by the difficulty of loading enough drug into the nanoparticles.

No comments:

Post a Comment