Survival rates for the hardest-to-treat cancers have stalled below 14%, and the reason is that these tumours require a cocktail of different drugs that current delivery methods cannot get to the target in sufficient quantity or variety. This interdisciplinary research centre will build two new types of delivery systems to solve that problem. First, it will create tiny carriers—metal organic frameworks and organic cages—that can hold far more drug molecules than existing nanoparticles. Second, it will develop implantable gels and miniature electrophoretic pumps that actively push drugs through biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier. Combining both approaches should allow a step change in how much and how many different drugs reach a tumour. If successful, the work could transform treatment for pancreatic, brain, and other cancers where conventional chemotherapy barely works. The project also includes early-stage market analysis and industry engagement to accelerate clinical translation. While the core science is fundamental—new materials chemistry and device engineering—the team has strong links with Cancer Research UK and pharmaceutical partners, giving the work a clear path toward eventual patient use.
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While the survival rate for most cancers has doubled over the last 40 years, hard-to-treat cancers show survival rates below 14%. To combat these cancers, multiple pathways (immune/inflammatory, neoangiogenic, cell replication) need to be targeted and this necessitates a multimodal delivery approach that will increase not only the amount but also the range of therapeutic agents that reach the target site. This IRC will address this challenge by developing (i) delivery vehicles that are based on metal organic frameworks and organic cages and show substantially increased payload capacity, and (ii) implantable/injectable delivery platforms that are based on gels and electrophoretic pumps and enhance drug penetration through e.g. the blood-brain barrier. By combining these two approaches, we will achieve a step change in the amount and range of drugs that reach the tumour site. Two crosscutting translational activities, on material delivery & additive manufacturing and on validation, will consider the whole chain from the conception of the delivery system to its clinical application, leading to a holistic approach to the problem of targeted drug delivery. The proposed research program builds on an institutional-level initiative on therapeutic science and strong links with CRUK and with national labs and industry leaders in drug development. The interdisciplinary team involved in this IRC includes groups from five universities with expertise ranging from materials synthesis and characterisation, through device engineering and manufacturing, to pharmacology and cancer, and will deliver scientific breakthroughs that extend beyond the field of targeted drug delivery. Economic and societal impacts will be delivered and measured through a joined-up approach to market analysis, industry feedback and embedded anticipation of risks to translation. Engagement of end-users and stakeholders, which will begin as early as the preparation of the second-round proposal, will play a critical role in steering the IRC throughout its lifetime.
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