Novosteo Inc., one of the startups of Purdue University is developing and commercializing a targeted drug combination. This drug when injected into the patient will localize to a bone fracture site and speed up the process of recovery and concurrently reduces the treatment costs. With the current approach, it is possible to eliminate the pain and complications associated with conventional methods such as external fixation such as cast or a surgery.
It is estimated that 6.3 million bone fractures occur in the united states every year. Researchers are initially focussing to address hip fractures especially in the elderly over the age of 65. Novostteo was founded by Philip Low, the Purdue Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Stewart Low, a postdoctoral staff member at Purdue University.
According to low, for people over the age of 65 who experience bone fractures, there is a chance that one in four people end up dying owing to the complications associated with the fracture. Also, the majority of the patients cannot retain mobility for a year.
How does the approach work?
The body produces a number of stimulants that induce bone fracture repair called anabolic agents. In the current approach, the team has taken bone anabolic agents and coupled with a homing molecule. This molecule carries the anabolic agents, responsible for bone building to the targeted location and hence bypassing the side effects associated with the conventional treatment. This is very much similar to the Insulin shot and can be administered as an injection.
With the help of this approach, doctors will be able to give higher doses of the drug and also reduce the side effects. This technology is handy for those who are not eligible for surgery and in particular to athletes and others who are forced to miss their work for longer periods due to bone fracture.
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Future Research:
Novosteo has licensed the technology and is working to optimize the drug. Initially, the team is focussing on hip fractures in the elderly before moving on to a broad range of applications. The team is successful in the preclinical trials and the team will go to clinical trials before it can be applied for human use. For this, the team has been exploring the funding opportunities to carry forward the research.
