Collaboration Opportunity on Transcranial Drug Delivery Therapeutic

Collab Opportunity on Transcranial Drug Delivery Therapeutic

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are a major cause of death and disability. Current therapies to treat TBIs with neuroprotective agents are often limited by ability to achieve therapeutic concentrations of the therapeutic agent in the brain. Inventors at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) developed a novel approach to treating TBIs that involves transcranial application of small molecules.

They discovered that compounds as large as 40,000 molecular weight (MW) can pass directly through the skull and into the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). It is bypassing the blood-brain barrier and allowing for rapid administration of the therapeutic agents directly into the injured or inflamed brain. This quickly achieves a high local drug concentration at the site of the brain injury. Transcranial drug applications can be used to pharmacologically target several tiers of brain injury responses. Application can be done through direct application to the skull through the scalp, transdermal patch, or subcutaneous injection under the scalp.

The commercial applications for this technology include:

  • Treating TBIs
  • Treating stroke
  • Treating other acute CNS conditions, including encephalitis and meningitis
  • Treating chronic CNS disorders such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis

NINDS is seeking a collaboration partner to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize treatment of brain injury or disease through transcranial drug delivery. If you are interested in finding out more or contacting NINDS please check out the abstract here.