Aphios
Corporation Awarded Japanese Patent for Phospholipid Nanosomes
Technology Platform
May
29, 2008 —
Aphios
Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a Japanese
Patent No. 4,107,680, issued on April 11, 2008, for its
phospholipid nanosomes technology platform for the encapsulation
of hydrophobic drugs.
Phospholipid
nanosomes are small, uniform liposomes manufactured utilizing
SuperFluids™. SuperFluids™ are normally gases
which, when compressed, exhibit enhanced solvation, penetration
and expansive properties. These fluids are reverse-engineered
to form phospholipid nanosomes for encapsulating and improving
the delivery of protein therapeutics, vaccine antigens and
sRNAi molecules as well as small molecule therapeutics and
hydrophobic drugs such as paclitaxel, camptothecin and bryostatin
1. Dr. Castor, the inventor of this technology platform,
points out “this technology does not utilize organic
solvents that could be harmful to the therapeutic, the recipient
and/or the environment and is rapid, broadly-applicable
and scalable while enhancing drug delivery.”
Phospholipid
nanosomes are nanometer-sized vesicles of phospholipid bilayers
comprised of single or multiple lipid bilayers. As such,
they are non-toxic, non-antigenic and biodegradable in character
since they have the molecular characteristics of mammalian
cell membranes. Hydrophilic compounds and therapeutics such
as recombinant proteins and sRNAi molecules are encapsulated
in the aqueous core while hydrophobic compounds and therapeutics
such as anticancer and other water-insoluble drugs are trapped
within the lipid bilayers. Encapsulation masks the hydrophobic
(water-insoluble) nature of drugs, and permits aqueous,
biocompatible formulations to be administered. Phospholipid
nanosomes protect the encapsulated therapeutics prolonging
their circulation and increasing half-life. For cancer chemotherapy,
this increases the likelihood that the drug will reach and
destroy cancer cells. Encapsulation also protects cells
from the circulating therapeutics and reduces their toxicities.
Phospholipid nanosomes could lead to: (i) targeted delivery;
(ii) enhancement of therapeutic efficacy; (iii) elimination
of pre-medication to counteract toxic excipients; (iv) reduction
of drug toxicity side effects; (v) prolongation of circulation
time and therapeutic effect; and (vi) improvement in quality
of life.
Aphios
Corporation (www.aphios.com) is a biopharmaceutical company
that is developing enhanced natural therapeutics and biologics
for health maintenance, disease prevention and the treatment
of human diseases with a focus on cancer, infectious diseases
and CNS disorders.
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