Who: ToleRaM Nanotech
What: The company focuses on expediting research for the focused delivery of drugs via specifically targeted nanoparticle devices.
Where: The goal is to decrease rejection of transplanted organs and to lower the debilitating side effects that transplant patients may experience. The team’s rapamycin nanocarrier, referred to as TRaM for targeted rapamycin micelle, allows a drug that isn’t widely used around the time of the operation because of its side effect in keeping wounds from being able to heal, to be used in a targeted fashion because it is one of the best drugs to use immunologically. It allows the suppressive T-cells to proliferate, which is good for the transplant as it allows the patient to tolerate the organ, he said.
When: The company has filed three patents on the technology it uses. A potential rollout for the first phase of treatment as a perfusion additive for donor organs will be much faster – a 2- to-5 year timeline given no setbacks. If experimentally successful, they estimate the time to reach clinical trials for a drug delivery system administered intravenously will be on a 7-to-10 year timetable.
