Technology

Mesoscale nanoparticles (MNP) are ~400 nm in diameter and composed of well-characterized polymers – poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEG) – that have been approved previously for human use in other products. Following injection into mice, approximately 26-fold more MNPs localize in the kidneys versus in any other organ – and these constructs release their drug payload over multiple days or weeks.

Key advantages of MNPs include:

  • Simple, size-based kidney-targeting mechanism
  • Applicable to a wide range of therapeutic payloads
    • Small molecules (demonstrated)
    • DNA/RNA (demonstrated)
    • Peptides (demonstrated)
    • Proteins/antibodies (theoretical)
  • Ability to “tailor” the drug release characteristic to match the disease being addressed
  • Nanoparticles of similar polymer composition have been successfully scaled up by others
  • Efficacy demonstrated in multiple animal models using various chemical classes of drugs

Smaller nanoparticles target the liver, while larger nanoparticles congregate in the lungs. Goldilocks’ PEGylated mesoscale nanoparticles are “just right” to target the kidneys.