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Background:
Current immunotherapy approaches face significant limitations in both delivery and patient experience. Standard treatments rely on either systemic intravenous injections of antibodies or small molecules that require frequent clinic visits, or localized injections that provide only short-term effects. These approaches often result in suboptimal drug concentrations at tumor sites, increased systemic toxicity, and substantial patient burden due to repeated treatments. The inability to maintain sustained therapeutic levels at the target site while minimizing systemic exposure represents a major challenge in current cancer immunotherapy.
Technical Overview:
Northeastern researchers have developed nano-bio formulations that enable sustained, continuous delivery of immunomodulatory agents at controlled low concentrations. This approach uses two primary delivery strategies: injectable depot formulations for local delivery and sustained-release oral formulations for systemic administration. The technology employs biocompatible carriers that provide controlled release profiles over extended periods, maintaining therapeutic concentrations while reducing dosing frequency. The formulations are designed to activate immune responses both locally within the tumor microenvironment and systemically to enhance overall anti-tumor immunity.
Benefits:
- Reduces patient burden by minimizing required clinic visits through extended-release formulations
- Maintains sustained therapeutic concentrations at target sites
- Minimizes systemic toxicity through controlled, low-dose delivery
- Provides both local and systemic immunomodulation for comprehensive cancer treatment
- Improves patient compliance and quality of life
Application:
- Cancer Immunotherapy: Providing sustained immunomodulation to solid tumors and metastatic disease
- Combination Therapy: Enhancing efficacy of existing immunotherapies through sustained delivery
- Personalized Medicine: Customizable delivery systems for individual patient needs
- Clinical Trial Applications: Improving trial outcomes through better drug delivery
Opportunity:
- License
- Research collaboration
