Improving Delivery of Poorly Soluble Drugs Using Nanoparticles

The Technology Evaluation Consortium™ (TEC), managed by One Million Solutions in Health™, is managing an evaluation within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry of the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing's patented process to make insoluble compounds soluble. In particular, the consortium is examining how the process can incorporate compounds, such as poorly water-soluble drugs, into an assembly of fully functional nanoparticle structures.

This new manufacturing process, developed by researchers at the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) at Northeastern University, produces nanoparticle structures with a unique ability to pass through normal tissue boundaries. Dr. Ahmed Busnaina, the Director of the CHN, has found that nano-sized particles can be fabricated into distinct shapes, such as nanopillars. With their controlled size and shape, these nanopillars could potentially have high tissue permeability. This process could have far-reaching impacts, including important applications within the pharmaceutical industry where some drugs must be administered by IV or injection, but would now be able to be delivered orally.

This would create drug-loaded nanostructures with high tissue permeability, which could allow effective transport through the stomach. The nanostructures would then pass directly into the bloodstream. This would allow for oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs that are either currently undeliverable or are delivered through challenging ways.

A successful project between One Million Solution in Health’s TEC and the CHN will lead to a significant advancement in one segment of the pharmaceutical industry. "However, a breakthrough like this should not be surprising for either party, stated Dawn Van Dam, President and CEO of One Million Solutions in Health. "The Technology Evaluation Consortium has completed many successful projects since its founding, and Northeastern’s faculty constantly pursue a high level of use-inspired, interdisciplinary research with a focus on discovering solutions to global challenges in health, security and sustainability."

The consortium is bringing together a number of industry leaders from pharmaceutical companies to evaluate, validate and further qualify the CHN’s patented process. Consortium members and pharma experts affiliated with the university will share ideas and solutions with the hopes of creating a likely path of adoption for Northeastern University’s nanoparticle technology. Interest among pharmaceutical companies has been high for this exciting project that could greatly change pharmaceutical research and development.

“The Technology Evaluation Consortium provides a well-established platform for our scientific team to interact directly with Subject Matter Experts from the industry,” stated Dr. Ahmed Busnaina, a Distinguished Professor and holder of the WL Smith Chair at Northeastern University in Boston. “There is no other organization in the world that has this depth of experience and contacts as we have witnessed with the team at One Million Solutions in Health.”