Exolvo Biosciences' Approach to Advancing Oral Biologics Drug Delivery
Biologics are essential for treating various chronic conditions, including autoimmune diseases, cancer, and cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. However, their larger size, complexity, and sensitivity to digestive enzymes present challenges to oral delivery. Therefore, biologics are typically delivered through frequent needle injections and intravenous administration, which is not always an optimal delivery option for patients.
Exolvo Biosciences is a spin-out formed as an early-stage private company under NLC Health Ventures. Exolvo can benefit from NLC's venture-building expertise, its wide range of health experts and industry partnerships. Verily is a precision health company that specialises in using AI and data integration to create personalised health treatments for patients. Capitalising on Verily's technology will hopefully transform drug delivery and make treatments less invasive and more patient-centric.
Exolvo Biosciences sets itself apart from the biologic delivery competition with their flexible capsule size and modular design. These features allow the delivery technology to adapt to a range of large molecular structures.
Brian Longstreet, CEO & CO-Founder of Exolvo, summarised the importance of the company's mission: "Talk to anyone living with a chronic disease like diabetes and they will mention the struggle of having to inject themselves. There is a need for innovative solutions that make treatments more accessible and less invasive for people that live with chronic conditions."
Exolvo is pushing towards assembling an Investigational New Drug (IND) package in the US while actively engaging with important pharma and biotech partners. The company's commitment to enhancing biologics drug delivery marks a key step toward making the concept of oral biologics a tangible reality.
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- Beyond the Needle: Exploring the Potential of an Inhaled TB Vaccine
- Inhaled Biologics: Where Are We Now?
Large pharma and smaller biotechnology companies are making continuous efforts towards amplifying and optimising biologics drug delivery. This example highlights the challenges that those living with chronic diseases endure and how a movement toward patient-friendly drug delivery is essential.
Not many biologics have managed to tackle the oral route of administration: currently, there is more focus on injectable routes such as intravenous or subcutaneous paths. Research into the oral delivery of biologics is active but represents a minor share of biomedical products under development.
It is anticipated that oral delivery of biologics will be a small field in the next decade due to a deficiency in scientific knowledge and a lack of technological maturity. Furthermore, the cost of formulating biologics and device manufacturing may deter companies from investing time and money into this space. Yet its benefits for patients and the gains for healthcare systems are critical, so companies should not be discouraged from exploring and developing oral biologics.
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