The complex regiments of small-molecule drugs that often treat chronic diseases in the developed world don't always translate well to places without amenities like reliable refrigeration.
They have a greater surface area than cubosomes and are specialized for lipophilic small-molecule drugs.
Big drug companies tend to favor so-called small-molecule drugs, which can be taken as pills, whereas proteins must be injected because the digestive system would destroy them.
The goal with this technology is to create a combination of polyelectrolyte multilayers where one multilayer prevents the formation of a biofilm and another releases a small-molecule drug through diffusion.
Discovery Studio is typically used in the development of novel therapeutic medicines, including small-molecule drugs, therapeutic antibodies, vaccines, synthetic enzymes, and even in areas such as consumer products.
The company is working on small-molecule drugs (compounds that can be taken orally) to disrupt the capsids (protein coats) that viruses form for protection of their genes.
Dr. Langer said the new study builds on research done in 1989 in which he showed that ultrasound enhanced the movement of small-molecule drugs through the skin.
Trastuzumab emtansine is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), a combination between a monoclonal antibody and a small-molecule drug.
Several companies are trying to develop so-called small-molecule drugs that can be taken orally and can pass through the blood brain barrier, but this has not proved easy.
The arrangements are exclusive only for specific diseases (or, in Monsanto's case, for use in agricultural products), so Millennium remains free to pursue its own small-molecule drugs.
