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

改进药物输送的新策略的开发有可能显著改善患者的预后。涟漪治疗公司开发了一种开发植入物的新方法，其基础是发现前药物(药物的非活性版本)可以加工成植入物，而不需要使用聚合物将植入物保持在一起并控制药物的释放速度。这通过更有效地控制药物从植入物中释放的方式减少了治疗患者所需的药量，并防止患者暴露在外来聚合物中。在这笔赠款中，Ripple Treeutics公司对一种名为皮质类固醇的药物的发现将扩展到其他将受益于受控给药的药物类别。将使用一种工程方法来制备完全由前药物制成的植入物，这些药物使用的药物是青光眼治疗和阿片类药物滥用障碍的标准护理。还将评估使用前体药物作为控制其他药物释放的载体系统。将对这些植入物的材料特性进行评估。将进行研究，以确定这些植入物是否可以预测地控制药物释放，并将制备和表征原型。植入材料的安全性也将得到确认。该项目的成功完成将加快为加拿大和国际患者开发新的治疗方案，提高生活质量和拯救生命。

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.