Drug delivery

In the In Conversation With series, a part of the free DDW podcast, DDW speaks with members of the drug discovery industry about their work and how it helps turn science into business.    In this episode, Megan Thomas is in conversation with Shelley Ackerman, a biological engineer turned immunologist with a passion for drug discovery and development. Ackerman […]

TherageniX and the University of Nottingham have been awarded a £995,000 ($1,252,585) grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. The funding will support the development of the company’s gene therapy in a powder, a non-viral gene delivery system to improve tissue regeneration following surgery. TherageniX will initially focus on orthopaedic applications, with the aim […]

A first in human study of a 3D printing drug product, T21, designed to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC), has reported positive results. Imaging results from the study confirmed that T21 tablets are precisely delivered and released to the target site (the colon) for the drug release. The administration of oral medication is […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval to Vyvgart Hytrulo (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) injection with Enhanze for subcutaneous (SC) use for the treatment of generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG). The treatment is approved in adult patients who are anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody positive. Vyvgart Hytrulo is a subcutaneous product combination of efgartigimod […]

From humble beginnings in the founder’s basement, UK-based Aptamer Group is now supplying its Optimer binders to clients across big pharma. DDW’s Diana Spencer caught up with co-founder and CEO Dr Arron Tolley. DS: What motivated you and Dr David Bunka, CTO, to create Aptamer and did you imagine you would one day be operating on […]

Ellipses Pharma, a global drug development company focused on accelerating the development of cancer medicines and treatments through an innovative drug development model, has been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) by the FDA for EP0042, a dual FLT-3 and Aurora kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).   In February 2023, the FDA […]

Aera Therapeutics has launched with a vision to “unlock the potential of genetic medicines across a wide range of modalities and therapeutic areas”.   The company’s delivery platform is based on research conducted in the laboratory of scientific founder Feng Zhang and aims to address the limitations of today’s delivery technologies to more broadly enable new […]

Oregon State University College of Pharmacy scientists have shown that lipid nanoparticles and messenger RNA could treat blindness associated with a rare genetic condition.  Researchers developed nanoparticles able to penetrate the neural retina and deliver mRNA to the photoreceptor cells whose proper function makes vision possible.  The study, led by OSU Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical […]

In January 2022, DDW’s Megan Thomas spoke to decision-makers from the drug discovery industry about their predictions on what 2022 holds for our sector. As we head into 2023, DDW will be publishing a series of reflections on these predictions. Here, Thomas reflects specifically on Anita Cooper’s prediction relating to the importance of clinical trials.  […]

Bio-chromatography company Sartorius BIA Separations (BIA) and exosomes medicines company Exopharm have signed a Material Transfer Agreement and associated collaborative programme.  The partnership aims to combine Exopharm’s LEAP technology together with BIA’s CIM (Convective Interaction Media) monolith chromatography for improved large-scale therapeutic exosome production and commercialisation.  The companies hope to meet the demand for a […]

A new polymer-based drug delivery system for mRNA and other nucleic acids has won the CPHI Excellence in Pharma Award in the category “Packaging and Drug Delivery”.  The system was developed by Evonik Health Care together with researchers at Stanford University.  Developed together with Professors Robert Waymouth, Paul Wender and Ronald Levy from the University […]

Ashley Rein, Global Market Manager for Topical Drug Delivery at Lubrizol Life Science Health (LLS Health), explains how by using mucoadhesive drug delivery, developers can bring novel drugs to market and maximise the efficacy of pre-existing APIs.  Drug discovery and development is a time-consuming and costly endeavour. The journey from novel API to final approval […]

Gurmeet Singh, Senior Director at West Pharmaceutical Services & Jeff Kyle, Senior Director of Wearable Delivery Systems explore how a focus on containment in early drug discovery can help ease the development process later on. It may seem counterintuitive to spend time and money on planning for containment and delivery systems for a drug in […]

Pharmaceutical company Transpire Bio will work alongside drug delivery provider Recipharm to develop two inhaled medicines for the treatment of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).   Transpire Bio announced a definitive agreement with Recipharm to develop its TRB-1 and TRB-2 inhaled medicines. These are the first products developed by Transpire Bio and will be […]

Biotechnology company Calidi Biotherapeutics has been granted a US patent for its SuperNova (SNV) technology platform. Calidi’s SNV platform is composed of allogeneic, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) loaded with an oncolytic agent. The company aims to use it in combination with various immunotherapy agents, including blocking antibodies. The SNV platform is designed to shield oncolytic viral payloads from the immune system, potentially delivering immuno-oncology […]

Biotech ISA Pharmaceuticals has launched a clinical trial using its Amplivant adjuvant technology which will enable the delivery of a cancer vaccine in patients.  The clinical trial, run by partner Scancell Holdings, is a multicentre clinical trial testing Scancell’s Modi-1 vaccine in patients with triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck cancer, and […]