The company is currently applying the long-acting delivery (LAD) technology to investigational drug candidates for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.
The LAD technology is designed to improve control, consistency and convenience in drug delivery by making it possible to treat patients with a single dose of a therapy over a one- to three-month period.
LAD consists of a small biodegradable polymer matrix, no bigger than a grain of rice. Using this technology, a drug can be administered via injection to be positioned just below the skin, where it slowly releases the drug to patients and degrades over a defined period of time.
“This important advance in drug delivery technology from the University of Pennsylvania shows the clear potential to revolutionize the way that drugs to treat many serious neurological illnesses are delivered,” said Jane Hollingsworth, CEO of NuPathe.
NuPathe is currently advancing two product candidates based on the LAD delivery technology: NP201, a dopamine agonist in development as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease; and NP202, which is in development as an antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.