Aphios
Awarded United States Patent for Polymer Nanospheres Technology
Platform
February
19, 2007 - Aphios Corporation
today announced that it was awarded United States P atent
No. 7,147,806 B2 for “Polymer Microspheres/Nanospheres
and Encapsulating Therapeutic Proteins Therein.”
Biologically adherent polymeric microsphere carriers have
been shown to be effective in the oral delivery of proteins
such as insulin. These microspheres are comprised of hydrophobic
copolymers, in contrast to conventional microspheres that
are hydrophilic in nature. The hydrophobic microspheres
appear to have a significantly longer residence time in
the gastrointestinal tract as compared to conventional microspheres.
While highly promising, the hydrophobic microspheres still
present challenges in terms of manufacturing and formulation
of a clinically acceptable product. Typically, the microspheres
are produced from an organic solvent solution, which raises
concerns regarding deleterious effects on the therapeutic
protein and residual organic solvent in the final product
as well as manufacturing scalability and environmental impact.
The issued patent covers novel methods for manufacturing
biodegradable polymer microspheres and nanospheres utilizing
non-toxic supercritical or near-critical fluids with/without
polar cosolvents. According to the inventor Trevor Castor:
“This technology can be utilized to enhance the oral
bioavailability of therapeutic proteins and improve biotechnology
drugs industrialization through market acceptability and
patient compliance, and can also be utilized as controlled
release vehicles for potent viral antigens against extreme
infectious diseases.”
Attorneys of record are Dr. Stephen J. Gaudet, now of McDermott
Will & Emery LLP, Boston, MA and Dr. Janine M. Susan
of Burns & Levinson LLP, Boston, MA.
Aphios Corporation (www.aphios.com) is a biopharmaceutical
company that is developing enabling technology platforms
and enhanced therapeutic products for the prevention and
treatment of certain cancers, infectious diseases and CNS
disorders.
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