Pharmaceutical development of a thermo-sensitive polymer for intrabladder delivery

Targeted delivery of drugs can reduce the side effects associated with oral delivery systems. The urethra provides easy access of therapeutic agents to the urinary bladder, an ideal organ for localized therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer, interstitial cystitis, overactive bladder, and chronic prostatitis. We propose a new therapeutic approach to increase the residency time and efficacy of the drugs by using biogradable polymers as a drug carrier, allowing a prolonged release of drugs in the bladder. In this project, we will prepare a series of such temperature-responsive polymers by controlling the chemical composition of the polymersand study their characteristics and performance. We will start with the polymers already approved by FDA for pharmaceutical use, and also compare with other biocompatible polymers developed in our labs. The pharmaceutical aspects of the polymer-drug systems will be evaluated at Pharmascience.
With the growing demand in the treatments of bladder cancer and other related health problems, the development of a biocompatible polymeric platform capable of releasing various drugs in the bladder should warrant the R&D investment in this project. TOBECONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Julian Zhu

Student:

Partner:

PharmaScience (St-Laurent, QC);PharmaScience (Montréal, QC)

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: