One Million Solutions in Health and Northeastern University have completed the Phase I TEC Validation Project™ for Northeastern’s nanofabrication technology with the Technology Evaluation Consortium™. The objective of the project was to evaluate and scientifically validate the proposed nanofabrication technology developed by Northeastern University to determine if the technology would add value to drug delivery in poorly soluble compounds.

Specifically, Northeastern University’s novel approach involves incorporating poorly soluble drugs into nanorod structures. In this project, Northeastern University and the participating members of the Technology Evaluation Consortium developed a proof-of-concept study for the TEC Validation Project™. Pharmaceutical companies nominated poorly-soluble drugs, and the scientists at Northeastern University used their technology to incorporate those drugs into nanorods.

Northeastern’s technology was developed because more than 40% of new chemical entities are insoluble in water. These drugs suffer from premature drug degradation upon administration, undesirable side effects, and reduced bioavailability. These drugs are mostly given intravenously, which is invasive and results in significant concentration of toxic drugs in the blood stream. Thus, it is imperative that a method of delivering these drugs through oral routes be created.

To overcome these problems, various nanodrug delivery systems such as nanocapsules, liposomes, micelles, nisomes, and lipid particles have been developed. However, Northeastern’s unique solution is the fabrication of drug-loaded micelles into 3D Nanorods, and delivery of drug in the blood and/or with subsequent tumor targeting for cancer drugs.

“We are pleased to have been able to work with Northeastern University in this TEC Validation Project™,” stated Dawn Van Dam, President and CEO of One Million Solutions in Health. “Northeastern’s technology is highly relevant to our partners in the pharmaceutical industry, and we are pleased to be able to bring this technology forward.”

Members of the Technology Evaluation Consortium met once every two weeks on an online virtual platform, to discuss advances in the TEC Validation Project™ and next steps. Pharmaceutical companies nominated compounds to test Northeastern’s technology. The scientists at Northeastern successfully incorporated all compounds into nanorods, rendering Phase I of the TEC Validation Project™ successful and complete.

Because of this success, the pharmaceutical industry and Northeastern University are eager to perform a Phase II TEC Validation Project™. In this project, both in vivo and in vitro permeability and cytotoxicity of drug-loaded micellar nanorods will be evaluated in cell lines and animal studies, respectively.

“Working with the Technology Evaluation Consortium allows us to make contacts with the pharmaceutical industry. This will be extraordinarily helpful once our technology is validated and we bring it to market”, said Dr. Ahmed Busnaina, a Distinguished Professor and holder of the WL Smith Chair at Northeastern University in Boston, and the Principal Investigator for the project.

If you are interested in joining the Technology Evaluation Consortium to validate this technology and others, please contact Dawn Van Dam at: dawn.vandam(at)onemillionsolutionsinhealth(dot)org

ABOUT ONE MILLION SOLUTIONS IN HEALTH

The goal of One Million Solutions in Health™ is to shape health care by sharing solutions and, importantly, to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery … of innovative cures, treatments and preventative measures for patients around the world.

In this next year, we will be reviewing 1000’s of new solutions and new scientific discoveries. By engaging scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, industry experts, health care professionals, and patients across various disciplines, and from around the world, we can utilize the power of the internet to disrupt things in a positive and transformative way to accelerate the movement of new solutions and scientific discoveries from the scientist to the patient.

We are on our way towards accelerating high-potential innovations, catalyzing investment and increasing awareness of, and support for, transformative ideas to improve health and save lives. By facilitating efforts to ensure organizations can Connect, Learn + Share, Innovate and Collaborate, our vision is to improve health care delivery, accelerate life sciences research and share patient and consumer-focused ideas and solutions.

As a not-for-profit, we welcome your participation and are thrilled to have you be a part of this transformative journey!

ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION CONSORTIUM

The Technology Evaluation Consortium™ from One Million Solutions in Health™ is dedicated to improving and accelerating life sciences R&D and health care outcomes. The Technology Evaluation Consortium brings together life sciences and/or health care companies and industry vendors or scientists, and other relevant partners (e.g., government and Universities), to evaluate and validate technologies or services in a collaborative environment.

The model empowers technology providers/scientists and industry end-users to collectively assess a number of solutions in a cost-effective manner, producing a depth and breadth of results that no company can achieve alone. Our mission is to triage and streamline new technology consideration for the industry and to be the place for the industry to conduct their evaluations and validations.

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

The Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) at Northeastern University in Boston is focused on developing tools and processes that will make it possible for businesses to quickly and efficiently manufacture products that have unique characteristics due to their size and shape. The CHN’s work on advancing our capacity to make high-rate, value-added products using nanoparticles and specialized processes is one of many initiatives that are making the university a leader in nanotechnology.

Northeastern’s advances in affective science, drug discovery and delivery, personal health informatics, and sensors are characterized by global collaborations with industry, government, and other academic institutions. Its leadership in nanotechnology and data science provides a growing technological foundation for new discoveries in these and other areas of interdisciplinary research. http://www.nanomanufacturing.us.