Zylö’s Nanopod™ Delivery Technology Plays Key Role
GREENVILLE, SC, Nov. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zylö Therapeutics, a life science innovator bringing affordable first-to-market therapies to the world’s populations, announced that its patented Nanopod™ aerogel delivery technology was used to demonstrate the efficacy of endocannabinoids in a model of cutaneous lupus. The results were presented on October 23, 2018 by Samantha Chalmers Ph.D. at the American College of Rheumatology in an abstract titled, “Topical Endocannabinoid Administration Protects MRL/Lpr Mice from Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus.”
Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) affects most lupus patients and has a profound impact on quality of life. While the morbidity from CLE is significant, effective therapeutic options are limited. There is growing evidence that the manipulation of the endocannabinoid system has immunomodulatory activity that could be clinically translated to a broad range of cutaneous and systemic inflammatory diseases, although data are limited especially with respect to topical administration. In the study described in the abstract, local application of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA)was evaluated in lupus-prone mice. To overcome known issues with respect to topical delivery of cannabinoids, Zylö’s Nanopod™ delivery particles were deployed.
Mice treated with AEA-releasing Nanopods™ (twice per week for ten weeks) had significantly fewer and smaller skin lesions versus both control arms. Interestingly, this improvement was noted both where the Nanopods™ were directly applied and where they were not applied, notably the face/snout region. At the time of sacrifice, whereby the mice were scored blindly using a modified CLASI tool, mice treated with AEA-releasing Nanopods™ had significantly fewer macroscopic lesions (p<0.0001), and significant histologic improvement was seen as well (p<0.05).
Together, these data demonstrate that topical administration with AEA-releasing Nanopods™ significantly prevents the development of CLE in a well-established animal model of lupus. This work also reinforces the rationale of targeting the endocannabinoid system for autoimmune rheumatic diseases and the utility of using the Nanopod™ delivery system to enhance efficacy.
Adam Friedman M.D., Professor of Dermatology at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences and co-author of the abstract, commented: “The Nanopod™ technology improved cutaneous delivery of the cannabinoid studied, which typically has poor skin penetration, and allowed for sustained release that significantly impacted the therapeutic effect in an animal model of cutaneous lupus, highlighting the potential of this class of active agents and the delivery system as well.”
Added Scott Pancoast, CEO of Zylö, “We are proud of the work of our scientists and their collaborators as they continue to demonstrate the therapeutic power and versatility of our Nanopod™ platform.”
About Zylö Therapeutics: Zylö solves duration-of-effect issues for a wide range of APIs. Lidocaine relieves pain for ~1 hour, requiring multiple applications, which explains the emergence of the lidocaine patch; by contrast, an ointment or cream containing lidocaine loaded in Nanopods™ will relieve pain for up to 12 hours—similar, if not better than a dermal patch, but without the hassle, the cost, and the disposal burden of a patch. Curcumin has virtually no duration-of-effect, as the GI tract and liver break it down due to first-pass effects; topically applied curcumin-releasing Nanopods™ bypass the GI system and provide a long duration-of-effect of the curcumin. Vitamin E will nourish skin for ~2 hours, but vitamin E-releasing Nanopods™ will nourish the skin 24×7. CBD is like lidocaine in that it has a short duration-of-(localized)-effect when applied topically; CBD-releasing Nanopods™ provide sustained release over many hours. Nitric Oxide has tremendous therapeutic potential, but it suffers from a half-life of seconds; NO-releasing Nanopods™ can provide sustained delivery of NO for 24+ hours.
Zylö Therapeutics
Scott R. Pancoast
Chief Executive Officer
(858) 775-6710
spancoast@zylotherapeutics.com
