Biotts - a biotechnology company from Wrocław - is developing a new category of drugs that act precisely on diseased tissues. Their transdermal system carries large drug molecules through the skin - even several times larger than with existing solutions. This method of drug delivery may make life easier for cancer patients and diabetics and, in the near future, allow them to dispense with debilitating chemotherapy or painful insulin injections.
Current known modes of drug administration do not fully exploit the therapeutic potential of pharmaceuticals. Distribution of the drug into the body via the oral route does not always provide the opportunity for a large dose of active substances to reach the target site - after all, the digestive tract in an adult is almost 8 m long and drugs are absorbed differently in different parts of it. Thus, doctors are forced to increase the doses of drugs to make sure they work. And the more drugs we take, the more side effects can occur. Biotechnology Biotts promises a breakthrough in traditional therapies.
- I have always wondered how to hack the human body and treat altered tissues so that the whole body does not suffer," he says Dr. Paweł Biernat, President of Biotts in Wrocław. - After many years of work, we at Biotts have succeeded in developing a universal tool for this hacking. Our transdermal system carries 20 times larger molecules through the skin than the global competition currently does, and this opens a new chapter for drug manufacturers, he adds.
The Wrocław-based company's solutions enable the transport of drugs through the skin - Until now, it has not been possible to administer most medicinal substances in this way. The effectiveness of the Biotts transdermal system has been confirmed by successive independent studies under laboratory conditions. Biotts carriers can be used, for example, as a delivery system for commonly used drugs, increasing their targeted effect while reducing the dose and dramatically reducing side effects of the therapy, especially on the gastrointestinal side. To date, despite many attempts, only 17 drugs in the form of transdermal systems have been developed - that is, 17 systems that dose therapeutic substances through the skin after application in the form of a patch. Only 10 of these have been commercially successful, e.g. nicotine, nitroglycerin, rivastigmine, fentanyl, hormonal drugs (steroids and contraception). The uniqueness of the Wroclaw-based company's solution lies in its throughput - many new active substances can be transferred with this system, including up to 20 times more than before.
Carrier for special tasks
- To put it simply: our carrier is a complex structure that allows the therapeutic molecules to reach deep into our body - firstly, it does not damage the skin, is biodegradable and inert to the body, and secondly, the drug, i.e. the active substance, enclosed in the carrier does not lose its activity and properties, which is often observed, for example, with oral drugs. Why a carrier? Our body does not like foreign substances, if we administered the active molecules directly, without protection, they would not have their healing properties. Patients often compare the treatment phase to war; if I were to find a suitable comparison, the lack of an effective carrier for the drug is like sending a soldier to war without a helmet and rifle. Administering the drug orally, on the other hand, is like sending soldiers on foot on too long a march, during which most will not reach their destination," explains Dr Paweł Biernat, adding that the effectiveness of the preparation depends not only on the biologically active substances used in it, but also on the ability of the ingredients to penetrate deep into the human body. Even a high-end modern preparation has to penetrate the skin in order to work.
Size is not the only thing that matters
There are many limitations to percutaneous drug delivery, the most important being the size of the drug molecule and its physicochemical nature. Existing solutions allow only fat-soluble substances, i.e. lipophilic and relatively small particle size, to be administered through the skin. Research at Biotts shows that molecules of a larger size (even 10 or 20 times larger) and of a different nature, i.e. water-soluble (hydrophilic), can also be successfully transferred. Peptides (proteins) used in type II diabetes are an example of such substances.
- The properties of the technology developed in Biotts laboratories allow the group of transdermal drugs to be extended in an almost unlimited way. Drugs that have so far only been administered orally, for example due to their water solubility, can be introduced into the transport structure we have developed. An example is the therapeutic substances selected for one of the Biotts projects, which are used in the treatment of type II diabetes and have so far only been administered in tablet or injectable form (glimepiride, dapagliflozin, repaglinide, semaglutide)," says Dr Jan Meler, co-founder of Biotts, also adds that The second direction of Biotts' research is the possibility of applying the developed transdermal technology in oncology and creating an anticancer drug administered bypassing the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this project is to reduce the numerous systemic side effects in anticancer therapy, for example during treatment of breast tumours.
New category of medicines
According to the developers, this solution does not interfere with the body (no more injections), does not require the administration of tablets (relieves the digestive system) and therefore does not require the need to remember to take them (application of the active substance happens by itself through the transdermal system).
- Imagine drugs administered for breast cancer in the form of an ointment - we only act on locally altered tissues, targeting directly where our body is affected. For us, patient comfort and the effectiveness of the therapy are very important. In this context, the effectiveness of our carrier is important, whether it is in the form of a patch, ointment or spray.and thanks to the technology we have developed, we are moving really large molecules through the skin. This is a breakthrough discovery. Targeted therapy will make it possible to relieve stress on the whole body, and this could mean the end of exhausting therapies, adds Dr Jan Meler.
Biotts is a biotechnology company from Wrocław, founded in 2018 by two inventors, Dr Paweł Biernat and Dr Jan Meller. Biotts scientists develop proprietary drug transport technologies and drug formulations in the fields of diabetology and oncology.
Source: cowzdrowiu.pl