By Stephanie Daher
For WisBusiness.com
For many researchers, curing cancer is a big dream. For Co-D Therapeutics the key to achieving this big dream means thinking small – “nano” small.
The medical profession has been attempting to streamline and improve chemotherapy since the start of the 20th century. While drug development has advanced since then, the founders of Co-D therapeutics believe that process is moving far too slowly.
Incorporated in Madison in May 2012, Co-D is a collaboration between professors Glen Kwon, Kevin Kozak and Abdulla Saad through UW-Madison. They have made it their mission to improve the lives of cancer patients by leveraging their knowledge of nanotechnology, drug therapy and molecular multi-targeting.
The founders of Co-D emphasize that cancer in its essence is a flexible and versatile disease that should be treated with just that — versatility and flexibility. The dominant monotherapy in the chemotherapy market uses two stages in molecular multi-targeting. The first involves developing a targeted agent that inhibits important signaling pathways for cancer cells. The second involves the delivery of these targeting agents. Both approaches require a incorporating a mix of pharmaceuticals that increase toxicity in patients as the number of carriers increase.
Co-D’s solution attacks this problem with efficacy and safety in mind. The company has developed a nanomedicine that is made of non-toxic polymeric micellar vehicles.
Co-founder and UW-Madison graduate Saad described the role of nanoparticles. “The polymer we are using is safe because it is biodegradable, meaning it can be cleared by the body. In doing this we are eliminating any foreign toxicity. We can attest to its safety because it is already being used with other drug therapies.”
Co-D’s lead product, Triolimus, is a 3-in-1 nanomedicine. This single medicine carries three chemotherapeutic agents — paclitaxel, rapamycin and 17-AAG. This technology also provides an injectable and safe mechanism for the three medicines.
“In doing this we are eliminating the toxicity of already existing drugs,” Saad said. “They have been tried but, have yet to be used, due to the high individual toxicity. We basically removed all the toxic vehicles from the formulation and placed them in a safe nanoparticle. That was our goal to deliver three drugs at once safely.”
Triolimus is being developed under “orphan drug” regulations to treat angiosarcoma, an illness in which vessel walls are lined with malignant endothelial-type cells, which then spread to sites within the body through the blood or lymphatic vessels. The company’s founders hope success with this treatment will give Triolimus a competitive edge and push them towards their ultimate goal of approval to treat breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
“Professors Kwon and worked on the formulation and have already tested the therapy on in-vitro and fetal models of breast cancer and lung cancer. They found that it worked within these models the best,” Saad said.
Co-D’s founders believe focusing on improving the delivery system of therapeutic drugs is a strategy that requires relatively low research and costs less than development of new medicines. With its delivery system that prolongs drug release and eliminates the use of toxic carriers, Co-D will compete with conventional multi-agent chemotherapy regimens in hopes of shedding a new light on cancer treatment.
The company presented to potential investors Nov. 5 at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium.
— Daher is a senior in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.
