BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company for Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, has signed a licensing agreement for its V-Smart drug delivery
technology with Lauren Sciences LLC, a privately held biotechnology company in
New York.
Lauren Sciences will develop the technology as a platform for
treating central nervous system diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s,
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and brain malignancies.
The V-Smart
technology pinpoints where the drug will be released in the brain, increasing
effectiveness and reducing adverse effects. VSmart technology is based on
nanovesicles made of proprietary building blocks that provide high stability,
large encapsulation capacity, targeting to specific cells and tissues, a
controlled release mechanism, and passage through biological barriers, including
the blood brain barrier (BBB).
The drug delivery platform was developed
by BGU researchers Dr. Sarina Grinberg of the Department of Chemistry,
Dr. Charles Linder of the Department of Biotechnology and Prof. Eliahu Heldman
of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, who also serves as Lauren Science’s
chief scientific officer. Lauren Sciences will continue to conduct development
activities at BGU.
“Our pre-clinical studies demonstrate that novel,
nano-sized V-Smart vesicles encapsulate small molecules, peptides, proteins and
nucleic acids, cross the BBB and release their encapsulated contents in the
brain,” said Heldman. “Our goal is to target, protect and restore dopaminergic
neurons [nerve cells] in the brain that deteriorate during the course of
Parkinson’s disease. The success of this project should improve Parkinson’s
patients’ lives.”
The BBB is permeable for small molecules, however an
active drug delivery transport system is required for other substances. There is
currently an unmet need and a great medical challenge for a safe, effective and
reliable drug delivery transport system to deliver viable chemotherapeutic
agents to the brain of patients with brain cancer or other CNS related clinical
states.
The V-Smart platform is protected by several worldwide patents
filed by BGN Technologies. Lauren Sciences was recently awarded a grant from the
Michael J. Fox Foundation to develop a V-Smart therapeutic for Parkinson’s
disease.
|