Drug delivery is more than just taking a pill, there are many modes of delivery each with its own advantages and disadvantages. One main question that is always relevant is “how do we get the drug at the desired location in high enough quantity?”. Since many of the drugs we take for serious conditions such as cancer also have many undesired side-effects, the aim is always to keep the concentrations as low as possible everywhere else and only target those areas that are required. Getting drugs at the right location at the right time while minimizing unwanted effects is extremely challenging and one of the key solutions is making use of protective vehicles that shield the drug from the body and allow it to be released on-demand when it reaches the target tissue. In this project, so-called antibubbles are being developed that are able to store drugs inside a bubble, that is triggered by medical ultrasound. Specifically, in this project, the aim is to address drug delivery to the brain.
The project will be executed through a public-private partnership in the Northern Netherlands, involving partners across the entire development, production, manufacturing, and usage chain. The Northern Netherlands serves as an ideal testing ground to market innovation globally upon success.
The regional partners are supported by Empowermi BV and include: Bether Encapsulates, a company that is specialized in development of antibubbles, Solstice BV known for development and production of bubbles and scale-up for clinical applications, InnoCore Pharmaceuticals BV, a company that develops and makes biodegradable polymers for drug delivery purposes, together with the UMCG academic department Biomaterials & Biomedical Technology, with Dr. Patrick van Rijn, Prof. Inge Zuhorn and Prof. Helder Santos bringing its expertise biomaterials, nanomedicine and drug delivery to the brain, including expertise on the blood-brain-barrier.
This project shows how the Northern Netherlands can set an example. The technology, production and use of antibubbles is strongly represented in the region by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and larger companies, which operate globally from the three northern provinces.
The project is made possible by the Just Transition Fund which aims to advance medtech and drug delivery technology development of the Drenthe, Groningen, and Fryslân Provinces, the Municipality of Emmen, and the Northern Labour Market regions. The fund is co-financed by the European Union and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and is made available by the regional funding agency Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN).
Bether Encapsulates BV: Development of antibubbles technology.
Solstice BV: Development production process bubbles for clinical applications.
UMCG-BBT: Development of drug delivery strategies and testing of these in biologically-relevant systems and models.
InnoCore Pharmaceutical BV: Development of biomedical polymers for drug delivery applications.
