U researchers have developed a miniscule drug to treat certain types of cancer and are in the process of marketing it through a new company called Nanonc Inc.
Inventor Natalya Rapoport, a research professor in bioengineering, started working on the nano-sized droplets in 2000. The droplets are combined with a chemotherapy drug, which is then injected into the body to accumulate in the tumor and fight the cancer.
Although the drug has yet to undergo clinical human trials, Rapoport has already begun creating Nanonc Inc. with the U’s Technology Venture Development Office, which works with U researchers to create businesses.
Hunter Jackson, director of faculty outreach for Technology Venture Development, said the technology is unique compared to other cancer treatments because of the size of the drug.
“The cool thing about the (droplets) is they are very small,” Jackson said. “They are so small that they pass through the wall of blood vessels.”
The droplets are too small to enter and stay in normal blood cells, which prevents the chemotherapy drugs from destroying healthy blood cells, Rapoport said.
After the droplets are in the tumor, they cannot leave, she said. Researchers can use an ultrasound to turn the droplets into bubbles that releases the drug into tumors.
Rapoport said that through this technology, life can be extended.
“It’s the ultimate goal,” she said.
Although the treatment help tp slow cancer, there are still problems.
“We still have this problem of tumor relapse when we stop treating, even when tumors look completely gone,” Rapoport said.
Working with research assistants, Rapoport tested the drug on mice. Test subjects who received the drug survived past 100 days, as compared to subjects without the drug who passed away before that point. Although it may seem minor to a human, 100 days is 14 percent of the 2-year life span of a mouse.
“For people that die within six months after diagnosis, this is a real gift of life,” Rapoport said.
In her studies, Rapoport found that tumors that regressed became stronger and more resistant to the treatment, which happens with most cancer treatments. Many cancer patients develop multi-drug resistance and die because tumors begin resisting other drugs.
“We have to solve the problem8212;the very problem of cancer,” she said.
Rapoport is almost finished with trials on mice and hopes to start the next stage of her research to make it legal for the market. If she can hash out the problems in the next year or so, Rapoport will already have a business and marketing plan ready.
Tech Ventures has helped create more than 60 start-up companies over the past two years. They help Rapoport and others apply for and receive funding to further develop into companies like Nanonc Inc.