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The Next Generation Incubator

Westwood Bioscience, Inc. is developing Silicasome nanoparticle technology for enhanced delivery and reduced toxicity of chemotherapeutics drugs.

Market:

Liposomes as a drug delivery system have serious drawbacks including: autoimmune responses, accumulation in tissues, inconsistent drug release, short half-life and often similar toxicity of the payload to unencapsulated drug. Silicasomes are a next generation nanoparticle technology that overcome these drawbacks and are biodegradable with no observed toxicities. The market for drug delivery systems is expected to reach $137B in the U.S. and $225.8B worldwide by 2020.

Technology:

Silicasomes are comprised of a hollow mesoporous silica core surrounded by a lipid bilayer to enhance the delivery of a therapeutic. Mesoporous silica exhibits exceptionally ordered pores which can be loaded with a controlled amount of a desired drug payload. Optionally, a second drug can be loaded into the lipid bilayer coating allowing ratiometric delivery of multiple drugs. Targeting motifs can be added to further facilitate tumor delivery and reduce off-target effects.

Advantages:

  • Efficient and ratiometric drug loading
  • Very low drug leakage
  • Biodegradable with no observed toxicity
  • Stable with long shelf life
  • Significantly greater tumor delivery than liposome

Development Stage:

  • Pre-clinical

Select Publications:

  • Coming soon

Contact:

Email: lcouture@westwoodbioscience.com
Website: www.westwoodbioscience.com