STTR Phase I: Cardiotropic Atorvastatin Liposomes for Myocardial Reperfusion Injury

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project pertains to the critical need for pharmacologic treatments in large populations that suffer from coronary artery disease and that are subjected to procedures such as angioplasty or bypass surgery. While effective in correcting the reduced flow of blood to the heart tissue, these interventions also cause tissue damage categorized as ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). A pharmacologic treatment is critically needed to address this residual injury that is a major cause of rehospitalization, prolonged hospital-stay, heart failure, and mortality. By deploying the proposed technology of heart-targeted vehicle for drug delivery, it will be possible to achieve effective cardioprotection, which will reduce patient distress and economic burden on the healthcare system for patients undergoing reperfusion procedures. This disruptive technology will impact myocardial reperfusion injury market worth $1.6 billion and influence the standard of care for over 1 million coronary artery disease patients that are treated by angioplasty or bypass surgery each year in the United States. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop Cardiotropic Atorvastatin Liposomes (CATLIP) to deliver cardioprotective benefits of atorvastatin to the heart, safely and effectively. The innovative CATLIP technology will deliver therapeutic amounts of atorvastatin to the heart tissue for treatment of IRI. Current methods of administration are inadequate in reaching the drug concentration needed for clinical efficacy. Serving a long-term goal of developing a myocardia-targeted treatment to mitigate IRI, the research objective of this proof-of-principle project is to attain effective delivery of atorvastatin in the heart tissue. CATLIP’s targeting approach is based on a small molecule targeting vector that selectively binds to the cardiomyosin exposed in the injured heart tissue. The research team will prepare and characterize liposomes loaded with atorvastatin and modified on the surface with the cardiotropic targeting vector. This preparation will be tested in an animal model of myocardial infraction to determine atorvastatin delivery in the heart tissue. Successful implementation of this project will create a proprietary product for treatment of IRI of the heart and demonstrate the potential of a targeting technology for application with other drugs for the same medical condition. 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.