Design and evaluation of the physical-chemical -material properties parameters: Strategically expanding a prodrug platform for controlled drug delivery

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The development of new strategies to improve drug delivery has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. Ripple Therapeutics has developed a new approach to developing implants based on a discovery that prodrugs (an inactive version of a drug) can be processed into an implant without the use of a polymer to hold the implant together and control the release rate of the drug. This reduces the amount of drug needed to treat patients by more efficiently controlling how the drug is released from the implant, and prevents exposure of the patient to foreign polymers. In this grant, the discovery that Ripple Therapeutics has made with a class of drugs called corticosteroids will be expanded to other drug classes that would benefit from controlled delivery. An engineering approach will be used to prepare implants made solely of prodrugs using drugs that are standard of care for glaucoma treatment and opioid abuse disorder. The use of prodrugs as a carrier system for controlling the release of other drugs will also be evaluated. The material characteristics of these implants will be assessed. Studies will be performed to determine if these implants can predictably control drug release and prototypes will be prepared and characterized. Safety of the implant materials will also be confirmed. The successful completion of this project will accelerate the development of new treatment options for patients in Canada and internationally, improving quality of life and saving lives.