OncoLize
Technology
Technology
We use polymer-based technology that makes new formulation development simple, scalable and affordable.
The OCL-Platformis a thermo-reversible hydrogel and consists ofbio-erodable polymers, that are safe, easy to scale-up and easy to formulate with very different types of drugs:
- small molecule drugs, peptides, hormones, proteins and anti-bodies
- from poorly soluble to highly soluble
- with Molecular weights from 100D to 5kD
- and loading from 0.01% up to 5% drug weight/volume
One major USPis the fact thatwe use raw materials which are well-known, readily available off the shelf at Pharma grade. Our formula has several base patents pending while we prepare for new patents in the coming years.
A second major USPis that making of the product formulation is basically no more thanstandard compounding of the drugs and the excipientsin an aqueous solvent. Any CMO with capacity to compound injectables can be commissioned to produce the products under licenses.
TheOCL-formulationsare easily injected through long needles (up to 25G) or catheters (5 French, up to 1 meter) in any location. Upon injection, the formulation rapidly forms a stable matrix, resulting in the localized drug depot‘in situ – in seconds’. As the depot degrades, the stored drugs are slowly released into the surrounding tumor.
TheOCL-platformhas been developed for localized and slow release of different drugs in tumors at different locations, using different methods of injection.
The depots are imageable on CT and Ultra Sound,which will benefit image-guided delivery through endoscopes or stereo-tactic delivery.
OncoLize will develop theOCL-platformfor all types of tumor diseases. We have selected a range of suitable oncology drugs, both generic and novel.
These are formulated by OncoLize as oncology products for slow, localized delivery in solid tumors. Together with our partners we will develop a pipeline of products for some of the most deadly tumor diseases.
Technology licenses for external development can be made available for selected Product-Market Combinations.
Products
We develop three core benefits into all OncoLize products compared to the current standard of care products:
- Much better at eradicating the tumor
- …with far less side-effects
- … and triple A: Accessible and Affordable for All
The depot product consists of theOCL-platform, with or without standard solution buffers, and with drugs well-known to oncology.
Most tumors in advanced economies are already diagnosed and biopted when they are still in a local or regional phase of development. So delivering the treatment locally is vital in the early approach.
We focus on off-patent Chemo-drugs. These are very effective to eradicate most tumor cells, are fully available, and affordable. At sufficiently high doses they are very effective on their own. But if circulated as is done to date, they can also cause serious side-effects due to that same toxic effect on organs and the vital immune systems throughout the body.
By localizing the release of the drugs inside the tumor, and releasing it gradually over 1 to 3 weeks, we offer increased eradication without harming vital organs or suppressing the immune systems.
OCL-depots will often be combined with other forms of treatment:
- As treatment before or after surgery
- To boost the effect of novel Immuno-oncology drugs without negative impact on the immune system itself
- With radio-sensitizers for advanced radio-therapy
What do we do different...
We encapsulate these drugs inside the OCL-nanoparticles. Then, doctors can inject the liquid formulation through a thin needle or a catheter straight into the tumor. Within seconds, the injected liquid forms a soft, rubber-like macro-gel that stays in place. That is how welocalize the drug load to the tumor, to prevent it from spreading at toxic levels to organs, the immune systems and surrounding healthy tissues.
Over time, being from days to multiple weeks (as we design it) the depot gradually degrades layer by layer, releasing the entrapped drugs slowly but surely.
In previous runs we have measured the following benefits in various pre-clinical models of other applications:
- the level of the druginside the target tissue is 10 to 100x higherthan ever could be achieved through pills, transdermal patches or injections into blood veins
- the level of drugoutside the target tissue is up to 1000x lowerthan inside the target tissue, often not measurable anymore within a day, while locally present for weeks on end
- The requiredtotal drug-load was up to 300x lessthan via the other routes of administration
In this way, surgeons and oncologists can deliver the required drug dose to the tumor safely, and keep it there for a fixed period of time. If they can approach it with a long, thin needle or catheter, we can make the product.
Even better, the Hospital Pharmacy can make it overnight with standard equipment and simple mixing and stirring. This allows for personalized medicine dosing and alternative dosing regimes, both in clinical trials and in approved products. Making the formulation is that simple…
But can we treat metastisized tumors in this way?
Yes and no…
- As long as the doctor can localize the metastisized tumor and approach it with a needle or catheter, he can deliver our drug depot.
- Because we have localized the drug to do its work inside the tumor(s), we do not deliver sufficient drug to distant tumors which have not been identified yet or injected…
- Some evidence suggests we can deliver lower amounts of drugs into the blood stream from sub-cutaneous depots that may help in suppressing the spread of tumor cells leaving the primary tumor
