Celator(R) Pharmaceuticals Successfully Uses Nanoparticles to Administer Hydrophobic Drug Co...( Results presented at American Asso...),Health

Results presented at American Association for Cancer Research meeting

indicate that technology could improve control in administration of

non-water-soluble drugs to treat cancer and possibly other diseases

PRINCETON, N.J., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Celator Pharmaceuticals today reported results on a novel approach designed to deliver drugs that are incapable of dissolving in water (hydrophobic drugs) in nanoparticles to enhance and control drug circulation. These findings allow the company to combine hydrophobic drugs such as paclitaxel with other anti-cancer drugs, based on the company's proprietary CombiPlex technology(TM). The results were presented today in a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.

CombiPlex(TM) is a drug ratio technology platform that represents a new approach which identifies a ratio of drugs that will deliver a synergistic benefit, locks the desired ratio in a drug delivery vehicle, and maintains the ratio in patients with the goal of improving clinical outcomes.

To date, Celator has utilized liposomes to deliver synergistic drug combinations to treat cancer. Hydrophobic drugs such as paclitaxel are not amenable to this form of delivery because they detach from liposomes almost immediately after injection. Celator scientists reported that they were able to generate a library of hydrophobic paclitaxel conjugates incorporated into nanoparticles. In preclinical testing, these nanoparticles were shown to circulate in the blood for more than 24 hours, allowing the drug to accumulate selectively in solid tumors where it can then be released and exposed to the tumor cells.

According to the research findings, the ability to optimize paclitaxel conjugates could make it possible for higher drug levels to be maintained in plasma for extended periods, which is associated with superior preclinical antitumor efficacy when compared to drug delivery involving pacli
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