The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed cash to Nanoform. The funding, which comes weeks after Nanoform landed a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, will support work to use nanoparticle engineering technology to improve drug molecules.
Nanoform created its CESS nanoparticle technology to improve the solubility and bioavailability of molecules, thereby addressing the low success rates of oral dosage forms and enabling more drugs to get to patients. The technology is applicable to active pharmaceutical ingredients in all therapeutic areas in all parts of the world, but Nanoform’s goals bring it into the orbit of the Gates Foundation.
“Our goal is to improve the lives of over 1 billion patients. Too many medicines suffer from poor solubility and bioavailability and never make it to market, not to mention the challenge many patients have in accessing medicines globally. By applying Nanoform's innovative technologies and multidisciplinary expertise we strive to unlock many new therapies for patients going forward,” Christian Jones, chief commercial officer at Nanoform, said in a statement.
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Nanoform will use the Gates Foundation funding to evaluate how the platform “can help more novel therapies reach patients who need them,” Jones said. The evaluations will look at the application of nanoparticle engineering technology to several drug development projects.
News of the funding comes shortly after Nanoform disclosed a master services agreement with Boehringer. Through the agreement, Boehringer will assess the use of Nanoform’s technology to reduce the size of drug particles and thereby improve dissolution.