Many pharmaceutical agents are highly potent but are unable to exert therapeutic activity against disor­ders of the central nervous system {CNS) because the blood-brain barrier (BBB) impedes their brain entry. Preclinical studies established that Bortezomib (BZM), a proteasome inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma, can be effective against glioblastoma {GBM), but only when the drug is delivered via cath­eter directly into the brain lesion, and not after intravenous systemic delivery.

NeOnc conducted a study using BZM and NEO100, the company’s highly conjugated Peryllil Alcohol (POH) formulation, to see if efficacy could be obtained through intranasal delivery of the therapeutic. 

The study showed that intranasal delivery of BZM combined with NEO100 prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing animals over those that received BZM alone or NEO100 alone. Moreover, BZM concentrations in the brain were higher after intranasal co-delivery with NEO100 as compared to delivery in the absence of NEO100.

Read The Paper

Efficient Brain Targeting And Therapeutic Intracranial Activity Of Bortezomib Through Intranasal Co-Delivery With NEO l00 In Rodent Glioblastoma Models.

Authors: Weijun Wang^{† 1}, Steve Swenson, PhD^{† 1}, Hee-Yeon Cho, PhD¹, Florence M. Hofman, PhD², Axel H. Schonthal, PhD³, Thomas C. Chen, MD, PhD^1,2

¹Department of Neurosurgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, ²Department of Pathology, and 3Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, ³Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California