The company has filed a US patent application for the use of NaturalNano's halloysite nanotubes - hollow inorganic nanostructures derived from clay that allow the linear, controlled release of drugs.
Current controlled-release drugs do not have the benefit of linear release, however, many classes of drugs, such as pain-killing, chemotherapeutic, and cardiovascular drugs, would greatly benefit from a more linear, controlled dosing to achieve a consistent release over time, which can lead to an increase in drug efficacy and a decrease in side effects.
"The patent we have filed has to do with our nanochopping technology that can achieve precisely defined sizes of nanotubes," John Lanzafame, COO, Biophan, told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.
"By using various sizes of nanotubes we can more effectively control the rate of drug release to suit the particular drug application. Some drugs need to be released over 12 hours, some need days or weeks."
In addition to creating a more smoothly controlled drug delivery mechanism, Biophan hopes its technology will also have cost benefits.
"Most controlled-release drugs currently have first order release, where a large dose of the drug is released at the beginning, then the delivery becomes slower and slower over time," said Lanzafame.
"Because of this the delivery mechanism is being overloaded with the drug to make sure there is enough being delivered to the patient and because of this a lot of drug is being wasted."
"We are hoping our technology will reduce the amount of drug needed per application, thus reducing the cost, as the actual drug is normally the most expensive part of a drug product," he said.
Biophan is initially focusing its technology on improving the delivery of products that are already on the market. Particular areas of opportunity include transdermal and topical products in the areas of wound care, hormone replacement therapy, anti-cancer, anti-smoking and attention deficit disorder.
Lanzafame indicated that Biophan will soon be looking for development partners in these and other applications.
Once these developments are in place, it is expected that NaturalNano will continue to manufacture the nanotubes, while the partner company will be responsible for the product formulation and finish.