Chikujee is focused on developing therapeutic target specific multifunctional nanobindi to capitalize on the enormous opportunity to improve on currently marketed blockbuster drugs or enable the delivery of novel classes of therapeutics.  Our proprietary product engine is focused on improving the efficacy and expanding the applicability of existing blockbuster drugs.  We anticipate our first product entering the clinic in 2009.

Only a tiny fraction of an injected drug now reaches its intended target. Too much medication can injure a patient—too little, and there are no therapeutic effects. The multi-stage approach to nano drug delivery will increase efficacy and reduce toxicity of therapeutic compounds. We hope to reduce systemic exposure which will allow current drugs to be more effective. Furthermore, newer drugs may have a better chance of coming to market because of reduced toxicity profiles.

This is kind of like overcoming barriers. You need to cross all ten barriers to get to the diseased cells. It’s not enough to cross nine. Thus, the idea for the multiple stages that is similar to the concept of a Russian matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll.

A new multi-stage drug delivery system will deliver therapeutic and/or monitoring agents directly at the site of a tumor or other targeted cells.  The multi-stage system is comprised of a biodegradable nanocarrier made of silicon that is fully biocompatible and thus does not injure the body. This first-stage cargo can be loaded with even smaller nanoparticles (up to 20 nanometers) that can in turn contain medications or contrast agents.

The first stage goes to the initial site of administration, next to the inner wall of a blood vessel near the diseased cells. As the TSDV shell degrades, it releases the second stage – tiny nanoparticles that penetrate the walls of the inner blood vessels and enter the diseased cells. The third stage is then released and it consists of either the medication to kill the tumor cells or the contrasting agents to get quality medical images of it, or both.

The TSDV are engineered to seek out specific cancer cells, which differ from normal cells. This is accomplished by coating the TSDV with targeting molecules that can recognize and latch onto the outer surface of the cancer cells. Targeting molecules include antibodies, peptides, oligonucleotides and aptamers.

The TSDV have pores that expand as the TSDV shell degrades and allow the nanoparticles inside to proceed to the next stage. The nanoparticles then travel through the tiny holes in disease-associated blood vessels and into the targeted cells, where the therapeutic or monitoring agents are released.