Drug Delivery System That Targets Bone and Boosts Availability and Solubility of Therapeutic Drugs
In healthy individuals, bone resorption and formation are well balanced, with the bone mass maintained in a steady state. Disturbance of such balance may lead to a number of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, Paget�s disease, osteoporosis and bone cancer. With the worldwide prevalence of osteoporosis alone estimated at approximately 96 million people in 2004, there is increasing need for effective therapeutics to delay bone disease progression, reverse disease effects, and improve the quality of life for patients. However, most current therapeutics for these diseases are systemic and are not specifically targeted to the bone, which may greatly hamper their clinical application. Dr. Kopecek and colleagues have addressed this issue and developed a water-soluble polymer conjugate for bone- targeted drug delivery. This system can be used as a universal carrier for any bone-related therapeutics.Benefits
The therapeutic market for disease in which bone loss is observed include malignant bone disease, rheumatoid arthritis ($1-5 billion), osteoarthritis ($12 billion), osteoporosis ($11.5 billion), periodontal disease and Paget's Diseases of bone. By conjugating current therapeutics to this polymer it would extend the life of current drugs and be useful across a broad spectrum of treatments
Stage of Development
A formal patent application has been filed under the PCT with nationalization to the U.S. with publication number WO 04/062588 A3.
This technology is part of an active, ongoing research program that has been demonstrated to work in proof-of-concept experiments which includes a working prototype that has been validated in animal experiments. It is available for developmental research support and licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.
Additional Info
*D. Wang, S. Miller, P. Kopeckova, J. Kopecek (2005). Bone-Targeting Macromolecular Therapeutics. Adv. Drug Delivery Rev., 57, 1049-1076.
*See also http://www.pharmacy.utah.edu/pharmaceutics/groups/kopecek/index.html
Inventor(s): Jindrich Kopecek, Scott Miller, Pavla Kopeckova, Dong Wang
Type of Offer: Licensing
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