STTR Phase I: Nanoengineered Encapsulation of Therapeutics

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a feasibility study for the design of true core-shell type nonocapsules for drug delivery. The research will focus on strategies aimed at controlling the nanostructure and chemistry of the capsules, and also on ways to design encapsulated therapeutics capable of being transported to specific parts of the body for targeted drug delivery. The capsule design strategy is rather general and the technology is expected to be portable to other therapeutic systems that may benefit from a similar delivery strategy. The research team expects to develop a commercial product line in the medium- and long-term, rather than a single encapsulated therapeutic. Market size is inferred from the number of patients per year the target encapsulated therapeutic is intended for. For the specific medical application, an upper limit of about l.5m patients per year in the US alone may benefit from new and improved drug delivery strategies.