Formulation for targeted delivery of novel therapies for oncology

This project combines three partners (2 industrial, 1 academic) with complementary expertise to develop a product for cancer treatment. The research will focus on the development of an injectable formulation based on nanoparticles with the ability to deliver a payload to cancer cells. This ability is based on the presence of chemical groups, which can selectively bind receptors on cell surfaces; specifically, we target a receptor (CD44) that is overexpressed in a number of tumours. The nanoparticles will also be able to release intracellularly an RNA construct capable of cancelling (silencing) the production of an oncogene (a gene with the potential to cause cancer when activated), KRAS, which is often a signature of colorectal, lung and breast cancers.
Our consortium will focus on the rational selection of the best candidates using small libraries of nanoparticles; their performance first in vitro and then in vivo will be assessed, and the tumour-suppressing activity of optimized nanoparticles will be finally evaluated in animal models with a view to accelerate regulatory toxicolgy studies and human clinical trials.