Israeli researchers unveiled on Wednesday a new method of delivering drugs that could lead to more effective treatments for gastrointestinal conditions such as Crohn’s disease and colitis and opens the door to targeted therapies for other conditions.
Typically, when drugs are injected into the bloodstream, they pass through the liver, where they can either be processed or broken down. This process can limit the effectiveness of medications designed to target specific organs or cells, especially if the liver metabolizes the drugs before they can reach their intended destination. In the case of mRNA-based drugs — which use messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct cells to produce specific proteins that can treat or prevent disease — the liver is the primary site of drug breakdown.
However, Tel Aviv University researchers led by Dr. Riccardo Rampado and Prof. Dan Peer demonstrated that it is possible to bypass the liver and control where in the body mRNA-based drugs are delivered by altering the composition of lipid nanoparticles that encapsulate the mRNA. The study was recently published in the peer-reviewed Advanced Science journal.
The findings suggest that lipid composition can direct mRNA-based drugs to target organs, such as the intestines, without passing through the liver.