Biotechnology firm, Lauren Sciences has declared that The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has awarded a grant to the company to further develop its innovative V-Smart nanovesicle platform technology for target-specific delivery of glial-derived naturetic factor (GDNF) systemically to the brain across the blood brain barrier for treating Parkinson's disease.
Lauren Sciences’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Susan Rosenbaum commented that the grant is a recognition of the company’s novel V-Smart drug delivery system and its promise in treating Parkinson's disease through an efficient therapeutic that surmounts the challenges in developing drugs capable of crossing the blood brain barrier.
Lauren Sciences’ Vice President of Research and Development, Irwin Hollander stated that improved V-Smart nanovesicles formulated with GDNF can be an effective therapeutic for preventing the progression or reversing the course of Parkinson's disease. It is expected that the GDNF delivery to the brain will pave the way to further efficacy studies in pre-clinical models of Parkinson's disease and then clinical studies in patients suffering from the disease.
Lauren Sciences’ Chief Scientific Officer, Eliahu Heldman commented that the company’s pre-clinical studies show that its V-Smart nanovesicles encapsulate nucleic acids, proteins, peptides and tiny molecules, move across the blood brain barrier and deliver their encapsulated substances in the brain. The company’s objective is to target, safeguard and restore nerve cells or dopaminergic neurons in the brain that get damaged during the course of the disease. This project’s success will pave the way to enhance Parkinson's patients' lives, Heldman concluded.
Source: http://www.laurensciences.com