June 23, 2009 - Oldenzaal, The Netherlands Nanomi, a leading provider of microsphere-based drug delivery technologies to the pharmaceutical industry, announced today that it joined a consortium for the development of a therapy to prevent chronic kidney disease.
In an aging population, the worldwide incidence of chronic kidney disease, requiring dialysis and, in some cases, kidney transplantation, is expected to increase rapidly over the coming decade. This is mainly due to the rising occurrence of obesity and type II diabetes. Therefore, the development of a therapy that prevents chronic kidney disease at an early stage and promotes functional kidney repair is crucial.
The consortium partners, four companies, two universities and two academic hospitals, will jointly develop a therapy where biodegradable polymer microspheres, loaded with anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic compounds, will be implanted in the kidney. The impanted microspheres will provide a local drug depot with a sustained drug release profile, maximizing the intended therapeutic effects and minimizing systemic side-effects. The therapy aims to restore the kidney function, thus reducing the need for transplantations.
The Dutch Top Institute BioMedical Materials (BMM) — a public-private partnership dedicated to research and development of novel biomedical materials and their therapeutic application — has decided to fund this “top quality innovative R&D project” with approximately 4.2 million Euro.
Participation in the consortium and the funding granted by BMM will enable Nanomi to extend and strengthen its monosphere drug delivery platform. Nanomi’s managing director, Gert Veldhuis, stated “We are proud to be part of this excellent group of partners that have recognized the importance of predictable and uniform microsphere dimensions, as provided by our monosphere technology, in the therapeutic performance of sustained release formulations. But most importantly, we sincerely hope that our joint efforts will ultimately improve the lives of many people”.
About Nanomi
Nanomi is an independent, privately owned Dutch high-tech company, which partners with companies in the life sciences to provide them with novel, high added value, micro and nanospheres enabled by its microsieve™ based process technology. The company was founded in 2004, as an independent spin-off from the University of Twente, and is located in the East of the Netherlands. Nanomi is profitable and has successfully entered into business agreements for the development of products for several top multinational companies.
Nanomi’s core technology is its proprietary microsieve™ emulsification process. The microsieves™ are made by precise semiconductor technology, which enables the production of highly monodisperse droplets and particles in a robust, reproducible and cost effective way. Besides this, Nanomi has recently developed nozzle technology for monodisperse spray-drying. Nanomi targets business-to-business partnerships with companies in drug delivery, molecular imaging, diagnostics, and research and analysis that have a high value product/application that strongly benefits from the technology and does not distribute and market products on its own.
