I-Corps: Translation Potential of Sugar Based Microparticles for Robust Treatment of Diseases

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the exploration of sugar based microparticles for accelerating metabolism in immunotherapies. This proposed technology is a drug delivery vehicle that can transport the drug of interest to immune cells, for which the healthcare and oncology industry can make use of. The drug delivery vehicle is constituted from a metabolite, allowing for increased energy levels of cells. This would be important for showing how metabolic pathways can induce a cure. Access to such a drug delivery technology has the potential to cure many patients. The technology can generate products that can improve cancer immunotherapies in patients with solid tumors. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. This solution is based on the development of microparticles that can accelerate metabolism of specific immune cells to develop cancer immunotherapies. This technology will help in developing advanced cellular therapies so that they can effectively fight cancer. The microparticles are made of small molecules that can insert themselves in specific metabolic pathway of immune cells and thus elevate their need to be dependent on outside sources of nutrition in the tumor microenvironment. This technology can transform the cellular therapy space and develop a highly translational product for cancer immunotherapy. 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.