Homing Pharmaceuticals

Patients with degenerative or inflammatory eye diseases may now hope for a cure

TheraKine BioDelivery is working to place medical agents precisely at the focus of the inflammation.

The Adlershof biotech company TheraKine BioDelivery GmbH is working on the targeted delivery of agents to the focus of infl ammation. Compared with the usual methods, the chances of a cure are greater, and there are considerably fewer side effects.

The diagnosis of an eye disease like diabetic retinopathy or age related macular degeneration (AMD) comes as a shock: the deteriorating eyesight often leads to complete blindness. The standard therapies can at best slow down the process, however at the price of serious side effects like haemorrhaging in the eye, cataracts, and retinal damage.

A more gentle treatment with chances of a cure is the promise made by TheraKine BioDelivery (TKBD) GmbH, which was founded in October 2009 and operates to a certain extent as a development laboratory for the US firm TheraKine. “At the Adlershof location, all innovations were conceived, realised, and subjected to preclinical tests,” explained Dr Andreas Voigt, Chief Scientist at TKBD. His tools are therapeutic proteins. “What interests us are above all the antibodies, a special class of protein that forms the foundation of natural immune defence,” he explained. These antibodies are encapsulated with a method developed by TheraKine and transported precisely to the focus of inflammation in the eye where they gradually bring their effects to bear. Experts speak of “drug delivery”, a fiddly affair because the antibodies must be packaged in approved pharmaceutical substances that first release them at the right place in the eye. “And only there,” stressed Voigt. For the body, on the other hand, this packaging must degrade compatibly and free of side effects. Experiments in the laboratory and on animals have shown that this works.

The advantages of this form of administration are obvious: considerably less agent needs to be applied, with dramatic reductions in side effects and savings in costs. Moreover, the patient is spared the discomfort of repeated medical injections directly into the eye. Voigt estimates that in about five years millions of people with chronically inflammatory and degenerative eye diseases will benefit from initial applications.

by Chris Löwer

Link: www.therakine.com