Researchers aim to resurrect shelved candidates, using microbubbles

A new approach to drug delivery is being explored by researchers at the University of Leeds, UK, in collaboration with the Medicines Discovery Catapult, a nationally-funded R&D hub based at Alderley Park, a major life sciences campus near Manchester.

The innovative drug delivery method is based around the use of microbubble technology, and involves transporting drugs to specific tissues using tiny gas-filled bubbles one thousandth of a millimetre in size.

It is hoped the technique could enable many drug candidates which have been discontinued due to poor safety data or stability issues to be brought back into development.

It's also thought that the technology could reduce side effects by reducing the dose at which therapies are effective.

Chief scientific officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult Peter Simpson said: “Many drugs fail to reach patients because they cannot be safely delivered to target tissues.”