STTR Phase I: Self-assembling molecular brachytherapy for treatment of metastatic cancer

Award ID: 2136700

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable radiotherapies for metastatic cancer, estimated to account for 90% of the 600,000 cancer deaths in the US each year. Of the approximately 1.8 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year in the US, nearly half are candidates for improved outcomes using some form of radiation-based therapy. Metastatic cancer, however, is generally not treated with radiotherapies due to the need for prior knowledge of the metastatic sites. The proposed project treats metastatic cancer by using the cancer cells themselves to help deliver the radiation. This technology may generate reliable efficacy of radiotherapy for the treatment of the most lethal forms of cancer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to advance radiotherapy that exploits cancer cells themselves as catalysts for therapeutic delivery. After systemic administration or local injection, the monomers are expected to diffuse through tissues and subsequently polymerize, immobilizing radionuclides in the extracellular space of cancer cells. Non-cancerous cells will be minimally impacted, as soluble monomers will remain subject to diffusion and relatively rapid tissue clearance in the absence of cancer cell-derived catalysts. The chemistry at the core of the approach is an enzyme-triggered polymerization of native-like compounds under physiological conditions. The final therapeutic compound features the polymerizable compound and covalently-conjugated radionuclide 131-I, a commonly used radiotherapy isotope. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Henry Ahn