NANOINHALE · Polypeptide hybrid nanoparticles for the delivery of inhalable drugs

Infectious respiratory diseases such as COVID or tuberculosis (TB) still have devastating effects on population health. While the development of potent vaccines has drastically reduced infection rates for some diseases, medicinal drugs remain a corner stone of treatment. Respiratory drug delivery via inhalation is considered an ideal way to directly target the site of infection in the lung. However, suitable functional polymeric drug carriers meeting all clinical and pharmaceutical requirements are rare. NanoInhale aims to develop novel polypeptide nanoparticles with mucus penetrating and cell targeting properties suitable for nebuliser-based drug administration to the lower respiratory tract with a project proof-of-concept demonstration for tuberculosis (TB) up to in vitro level. This clinically informed project is placed at the intersection of polymer chemistry, biomaterial science, and drug delivery and further expands into the fields of medical devices and nanomedicine. The project involves academic and clinical collaborators active in the fields of polymer and pharmaceutical science as well as TB Immunology. The applicants’ expertise in translational polymeric biomaterials in medical applications will be further enhanced by a unique training programme in scientific and complementary skills. NanoInhale’s impact goes beyond the studied area of TB as this platform technology is envisaged to be exploitable in other respiratory treatments. Project results will be communicated to the scientific community as well as the public to create further awareness of the importance of combating infectious respiratory diseases.