SBIR Phase I: Tissue specific delivery of payloads

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is pivotal for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which affects around 3.1 million adults in the United States. Traditional treatments are broad and often lead to severe side effects. This project develops a targeted therapeutic delivery system intended to increase treatment precision and reduce adverse effects.

Specifically, it aims to provide relief for the 5-10% of patients unresponsive to existing treatments, opening a market opportunity estimated at $4.65 billion. This technology is anticipated to advance the field of precision medicine by enabling therapies that specifically target diseased tissues, potentially improving treatment outcomes for a variety of chronic conditions beyond IBD, and paving the way for reduced healthcare costs and enhanced patient well-being.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is dedicated to creating a novel platform for identifying agents that can specifically accumulate in diseased tissues. The primary goal is to develop a proof of concept showing that our platform can uncover agents capable of targeted delivery to the gastrointestinal tract. This phase involves comprehensive testing in macaques, chosen for their physiological similarities to humans, to ensure the agents maintain their targeting ability without losing functionality.

Expected results include demonstrating that these agents can consistently localize to specific tissues in the gut. Success in this phase will set the stage for Phase II, where these targeting agents will be paired with therapeutic compounds to test efficacy in improving treatment outcomes. The project’s completion will enable the company to engage with pharmaceutical companies for potential partnerships and to apply for further funding through an NIH SBIR Phase II project, focusing on enhanced therapeutic applications.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.