Nanopharmaceuticals: A New Approach to Designing Drugs with Enhanced Therapeutic Utility
Cerulean is uniquely positioned to advance nanopharmaceuticals as the next generation therapeutics. Nanopharmaceuticals are particles of defined nanometer diameter size, which are designed to target and penetrate diseased tissue with “leaky vasculature” and then gradually release their drug payload at the target location. The unique characteristics of these nanoparticles allow for cellular uptake into cells as intact nanoparticles.
This fundamentally different approach overcomes the shortcomings of short exposure at target site and high systemic toxicity of conventional drugs. The technology underlying Cerulean’s nanopharmaceuticals is particularly suited for oncology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease.
Cerulean’s nanopharmaceutical platform is designed to realize the full therapeutic potential of promising drug molecules as more efficacious therapy and better combination agents by:
- Enhancing target tissue drug localization in tumors and inflamed tissues
- Enabling intracellular target access for promising new therapeutic classes, including peptides and RNAi molecules
- Sustaining on-target drug exposure for prolonged therapeutic effect
- Shielding drug from healthy tissues and organs to lower systemic toxicity
- Improving solubility and enable delivery of drug molecules that otherwise cannot be safely administered
The highly differentiated product attributes of Cerulean nanopharmaceuticals results in a profound increase of therapeutic utility. Efficacy is increased by maximizing the targeting, uptake, and retention in target tissue and releasing the active drug gradually from within the target tissue. The sustained release at the target site also offers the potential to treat resistant cell lines and may reduce the emergence of drug resistance. Maintaining the integrity of the nanopharmaceutical in circulation for a prolonged period of time minimizes non-specific systemic drug exposure, resulting in enhanced drug safety and improved side effects profile.
Cerulean’s present focus is in the field of oncology, but plans to expand the application of its platform to other indications such as inflammation and infectious disease.