Starpharma and Monash University receive funding
Dendrimer drug delivery method could benefit cancer and HIV patients
Starpharma Holdings in Melbourne, Australia and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) have been awarded an Australian Research Council grant to progress a new drug delivery method that could benefit thousands of patients with particular types of cancer, HIV and lymphatic conditions worldwide.
Starpharma and MIPS received $420,000 as part of the ARC’s Linkage Projects scheme, which encourages Australian institutions to undertake innovative research projects in collaboration with industry and other partners.
‘This funding will assist in advancing our collaboration with researchers from Monash University over the next three years, to understand further the full potential of Starpharma’s proprietary dendrimers in improving drug delivery,’ said Jackie Fairley, ceo of Starpharma.
Professor Chris Porter, lead researcher and Associate Dean of Research at MIPS, said the technology has particular implications for the treatment of diseases spread via the lymphatics and lymph nodes.
‘Our work so far suggests that careful design of the size and surface characteristics of certain dendrimers provides an opportunity to boost delivery to the lymphatic system, signalling the potential significantly to improve patient treatment,’ he said. ‘This grant provides an excellent opportunity to explore these issues in detail and to advance the development of targeted therapeutics.’
Dendrimers are precisely defined biofriendly molecules 3–10 nanometres in diameter. They are approximately spherical in shape with a surface, which has many different sites to which drugs and other functional groups may be attached, allowing optimisation of how the drug interacts with the body.