[TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITY 1992-012]

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Protease Mediated Drug Delivery
1992-012

A tri-university team of researchers has developed methods of delivering cytotoxic drugs in a targeted approach for the treatment of malignant tumours.

The Technology:
The ultimate aim of cytotoxic drug delivery for cancer treatment is to maximize the level of exposure of malignant cells to the cytotoxin, while minimizing overall normal tissue exposure. This can only be effectively accomplished by creating a targeted drug delivery system. An ideal system would result in an enhancement of the efficacy of the cytotoxin while limiting the usual toxic side effects. Researchers at Queen's University, the Royal Military College of Canada and the Université de Québec at Trois Rivières have developed methods of delivering cytotoxic drugs in a targeted approach for novel chemotherapeutic drugs.

Our novel approach is based on taking advantage of malignant tumor-specific extracellular expression of proteases, which can cleave water-soluble groups attached to lipophilic and amphiphilic chemotherapeutic agents. This cleavage releases the active agent at the tumor site and thus acts as a targeted drug delivery system.

Advantages:
• Designed drugs are cleaved by a specific protease only at the desired site.
• Method permits accumulation of drugs in targeted areas.
• Method may permit overall higher dosing of cytotoxic drugs.
• Method may be used to create novel compounds based on new or existing cytotoxins.

Commercial Status:
This invention is protected by U.S. Patent No. 5,618,790, issued on April 8, 1997. PARTEQ is currently seeking licensees or development partners.

Contact:
Perry M. Kim, Ph.D.
Manager, Commercial Development
PARTEQ Innovations
Biosciences Complex
Queen's University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
P: 613. 533. 2342 F: 613. 533. 6853
pkim@parteqinnovations.com