Biopharmaceutical company PureTech Health has licensed a University of Louisville technology that allows for oral administration of therapeutics.
Developed by UL researcher Ramesh Gupta, the technology is based on exosomes, which contain mixtures of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids and play a major role in intracellular communication. Exosomes have high potential for administering a range of drugs because their organic composition can be more tolerable to the body than current synthetic polymers.
While exosomes have been considered unusable for drug delivery because of their lack of stability during transit through the stomach and small intestine, Gupta’s milk-derived exosomes have been developed specifically to sustain throughout oral transport.
“Milk exosomes represent a significant opportunity to potentially resolve the long-standing challenge of oral bioavailability of macromolecules and complex small molecules,” says Joseph Bolen, chief scientific officer at PureTech Health.
Gupta launched the start-up 3P Biotechnologies to commercialize the technology, and now PureTech has licensed it from 3P.
“Building on Dr. Gupta’s pioneering work, we plan to advance our industry-leading exosome platform and develop a robust therapeutic pipeline for the oral administration of macromolecules,” says David Steinberg, chief innovation officer and co-founder of PureTech Health.
Source: Business Wire
