NSF Award
1346341
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project?s primary objective is to develop a glucose-responsive platform for 24-hour delivery of insulin for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which will cover the patient?s entire daily dose in a single administration. The company?s drug delivery technology platform is designed to passively deliver the right amount of insulin at the right time. Successful development of this technology is expected to 1) make basal and prandial insulin obsolete (a projected $32 B market in 2018), 2) reduce the need for constant monitoring and multiple injections per day, 3) improve glucose control, via a self-regulating system that requires no patient intervention post-dose, 4) better protect patients against long-term diabetic complications, and most importantly, 5) give those with diabetes a chance at a normal life. <br/><br/>The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is substantial. If successfully, the proposed platform could enable hundreds, if not thousands, of other stimulus-responsive medicines. The proposed delivery system can encapsulate many other types of drugs within the core particle system, and we have identified stimulus responsive elements that respond to hypoxia, inflammation, etc. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of scientists. If medicines are released on a controlled basis, upon other types of stimulus, this technology may open up a world of continually personalized medicine that will substantially improve the health and quality of life for patients worldwide.
