Nanobiotix, an emerging nanomedicine company, announced today that an independent preclinical study has validated the applicability of using its nanoparticles—nanoPDT—to treat glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most prevalent brain tumors. Nanobiotix expects to attract corporate partners for the development of nanoPDT as the Company focuses development efforts on its nanoXray technology.
Co-funded by Nanobiotix and Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (‘CLARA’), the ‘proof-of-concept’ preclinical study was conducted by the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (‘INSERM’) under principal investigator and neuro-oncologist Prof. and Med. dr. Jérôme Honnorat.
“Our nanotechnology is designed to allow for the precise destruction of cancer cells via the controlled application of an outside-the-body energy source—in this case, a laser beam. Of course, there is much more work to be done, but we are extremely encouraged by these preclinical findings, which dramatically demonstrate the therapeutic effect of nanoparticles on glioblastoma and open the possibility of a new weapon with which neuro-oncologists might fight this difficult-to-treat tumor,” said Laurent Lévy, Ph.D., President and CEO of Nanobiotix and Co-President of the French Technology Platform on Nanotechnology (FTPN).
“The nanoPDT particles allow for the controlled generation of physical reactions in targeted cells when triggered by the application of an external energy source—a laser beam in this case. This may have significant ramifications for cancer therapy in the not-too-distant future,” added Paras N. Prasad, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading authorities on nanotechnology and one of the inventors of the Nanobiotix technology. Dr. Prasad is a co-founder of Nanobiotix and Executive Director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics at SUNY (Buffalo).
Nanobiotix is an emerging nanomedicine company combining dramatic advances in nanotechnology and molecular biology to develop nanoXray™— a technology platform that is expected to be turned ‘on’ and ‘off’ outside the body to selectively treat a variety of cancers safely and noninvasively. Use of nanoXray is intended to resolve radiation therapy’s biggest drawback: destruction of healthy tissue and its subsequent deleterious side effects when a high dose of Xray is necessary. The core of a nanoXray nanoparticle is an inactive and inert substance—not a drug—that can be activated to locally (intratumor) increase the dose of Xray, which is then expected to lead to higher efficiency. After nanoXray nanoparticles accumulate in the target tissues, a standard X-ray is applied that is intended to generate a local therapeutic effect, designed to destroy only the targeted tumor cells. This mechanism suggests total control of the intended therapeutic effect.
http://www.nanobiotix.com
