Protein drug delivery technology

ArmaGen Technologies' molecular Trojan horses deliver protein neurotherapeutics to the brain

POTENTIAL OF PROTEIN-BASED THERAPEUTICS IN THE TREATMENT OF BRAIN DISEASES

Many disorders of the brain have proven refractory to small molecule therapeutics, and could be treated with protein therapeutics. Indeed, many protein lead drug candidates have been identified for brain diseases, but these proteins do not enter CNS drug development, because the proteins do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Instead, attempts are made to isolate small molecule peptidomimetics. However, it is very difficult to produce small molecule peptidomimetics. Moreover, in the rare case that a small molecule agonist is identified, this lead drug candidate most likely will not cross the BBB. Those small molecules that have a molecular weight > 400 Daltons, or form even a few hydrogen bonds, will not cross the BBB in pharmacologically significant amounts. (See Targeting Small Molecules). An alternative strategy is to re-formulate the protein drug candidate to enable transport across the BBB in vivo. This is done by genetically engineering a novel fusion protein, wherein the protein drug is fused to ArmaGen Technologies' molecular Trojan horse (MTH). The MTH part of the fusion protein triggers transport across the BBB via an endogenous receptor-mediated transport system. The following Table is a partial list of protein drug candidates for brain disease:

http://www.armagen.com/protein-drugs.php
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