Midatech Group and MonoSol Rx in drug delivery using thin film
An Oxfordshire-based company involved in the synthetic production of nanoparticles has teamed up with US drug developer drug developer MonoSol Rx to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles in thin film.
An Oxfordshire-based company involved in the synthetic production of nanoparticles has teamed up with US drug developer drug developer MonoSol Rx to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles in thin film.
Midatech Group will be combining its biocompatible nanoparticles with MonoSol Rx's PharmFilm delivery technologies.
Research and development will occur at Midatech Biogune S.L., in Bilbao, Spain with clinical development at a new facility in Basel, Switzerland. MonoSol Rx's facility in Portage, Indiana is critical in these joint activities.
Midatech Group chairman Professor Tom Rademacher, said: "MonoSol Rx's PharmFilm technology provides an ideal platform for us to evaluate clinical applications for our biocompatible nanoparticle technology.
The ability of PharmFilm to carry highly uniform low doses of nanoparticles makes it well-suited to deliver our biocompatible nanoparticles sublingually, buccally or through traditional intragastric delivery."
The nanoparticles are water soluble and can be designed to either diffuse freely in vivo, or to target specific cells. With a diameter of less than 5nm, unbound nanoparticles are freely excreted from the kidneys, reducing the likelihood of non-specific in vivo accumulation. Their size enables drug delivery via different routes of administration, such as parental, buccal, sublingual or intranasal. Their stability to enzymatic digestion may also permit oral therapy. Nanoparticles can be designed to be invisible to the host immune system with multiple ligands attached to a single nanoparticle allowing multivalent drug or multi-drug delivery on a single particle. In addition, as the nanoparticles self-assemble in a single step chemical process manufacturing is simple, safe, scaleable and low cost.
"Our collaboration with Midatech provides us with an exciting entry into the emerging field of nanomedicine," said Mark Schobel, president and ceo of MonoSol Rx. "The size and chemical composition of Midatech's biocompatible nanoparticles are ideally suited for delivery using our PharmFilm technology, and should provide another avenue for us to extend the commercial potential of new and currently marketed drugs.
'The combination of these two complementary and well-matched technologies offers a unique opportunity to move beyond the limitations of traditional delivery formulations to create new and compelling drug candidates with the potential for greater convenience, efficacy at lower doses, and faster onset of action. Most importantly, the mating of MonoSol Rx's and Midatech's technologies will enable the oral delivery of many challenging drugs that up to now could not be delivered orally."