New Hope for Parkinson’s and Other Central Nervous System Disease Sufferers
New Hope for Parkinson’s and Other Central Nervous System Disease Sufferers
April 11, 2012
Medical Research, Press Releases
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, April 11, 2012 – BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company for Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), has signed a licensing agreement for its V-Smart™ drug delivery technology with Lauren Sciences LLC, a privately held biotechnology company in New York.
Lauren Sciences will develop the technology as a platform for treating a variety of diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS), including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), as well as brain malignancies.
V-Smart™ technology is based on nanovesicles made of proprietary building blocks that provide high stability, large encapsulation capacity, ability to target to specific cells and tissues, a controlled release mechanism, and passage through biological barriers, including the blood brain barrier (BBB). The V-Smart™ technology pinpoints where the drug will be released in the brain, increasing efficacy and reducing adverse effects.
It was developed by BGU researchers Dr. Sarina Grinberg of the Department of Chemistry, Dr. Charles Linder of the Department of Biotechnology and Department of Clinical Biochemistry Prof. Emeritus Eliahu Heldman, who also serves as Lauren Science’s chief scientific officer. Lauren Sciences will continue to conduct development activities at BGU.
“Our pre-clinical studies demonstrate that novel, nano-sized V-Smart™ vesicles encapsulate small molecules, peptides, proteins and nucleic acids, cross the BBB and release their encapsulated contents in the brain,” said Prof. Heldman. “Our goal, for the project funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, is to target, protect and restore dopaminergic neurons (nerve cells) in the brain that deteriorate during the course of Parkinson’s disease. The success of this project should improve Parkinson’s patients’ lives.”
The BBB is permeable for certain molecules; however, an active drug delivery transport system is required for other substances. There is currently an unmet need and a great medical challenge for a safe, effective and reliable drug delivery transport system to deliver viable chemotherapeutic agents to the brain of patients with brain cancer and various other types of agents to the brain for other CNS related diseases.
The V-Smart™ platform is protected by several worldwide patents filed by BGN Technologies. Lauren Sciences was recently awarded a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to develop a V-Smart™ therapeutic for Parkinson’s disease.
About BGN Technologies Ltd.
BGN Technologies is the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, responsible for the commercialization of know-how and inventions of the University’s researchers. Through the development of novel technologies and creative partnering with industry and investors, BGN files worldwide patent applications and manages BGU’s large patent portfolio.
About Lauren Sciences LLC
Lauren Sciences LLC is a privately held biotechnology company founded in New York in 2010. The company focuses on using the V-Smart™ drug delivery platform to create a robust pipeline of therapeutics consisting of central nervous system (CNS) active drugs that normally do not cross the blood brain barrier. Lauren Sciences exclusively licensed the V-Smart™ technology platform and intellectual property estate from BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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