Drug Delivery Start-ups
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Knowing that the competition's tougher, the new crop of drug delivery companies grows increasingly specialized.
You may also be interested in...
Carigent Therapeutics Inc.
Carigent Therapeutics' novel nanoparticle targeted drug delivery technology allows for controlled release of therapeutic agents, targeting drugs to a particular physiological site, tethering of surface ligands, and the ability to combine multiple agents--like imaging agents and drugs--into one vehicle. The foundation of the platform is an FDA-approved biocompatible and biodegradable polymer material, PLGA, which is made into particles at the nano- or micro-scale depending on the application.
Teasing Out Next-Generation Diabetes Drugs
Many start-ups are developing diabetes drugs based on known targets which could attract Big Pharma partners and get to the clinic quickly, while a few invest in novel compounds that are either riskier or address the field's smaller subsets. Among the former are Phenomix, Plexxikon, CareX and Prosidion; among the latter are DiaKine, and DiaMedica. In all cases, these companies are looking to partner with Big Pharma, which is aggressively pursuing small-molecule drugs for diabetes.
RxKinetix Inc.
RxKinetix is developing two polymer-based sustained release delivery systems. {Micronix} permits water soluble drugs, including proteins, peptides and oligonucleotides, to be blended with polymers in microparticles 1-5 microns in diameter. {ProGelz} achieves site-specific sustained release of macromolecules.