To-the-cell drug delivery CMAJ 1997;156:1110 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association Most drug research is concerned with developing new compounds, but a group of Canadian researchers is creating targeted intracellular drug-delivery systems for existing agents. Termed "transmembrane carrier systems," they deliver drugs directly to targeted cells. According to Dr. Patricia Logan, director of product development at Inex Pharmaceuticals in Vancouver, these systems increase drug efficacy and decrease toxicity, both important factors in chemotherapy for cancer. Not only is the drug delivered to a specific site but it is released at an optimal rate. The company is now conducting phase II trials of an existing antineoplastic drug, vincristine, in a lipid-based carrier system to treat pancreatic and colorectal metastatic cancer. The studies are under way at institutions affiliated with McGill University and at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Logan says that phase I trials showed that about twice the amount of the drug could be administered through a transmembrane carrier system. New strategies are especially critical for treating pancreatic cancer, which affects approximately 27 000 North Americans each year and for which there is no effective treatment. While these applications proceed, Inex is also developing gene therapies. The technology to deliver therapeutic genes to target cells may be useful in treating a variety of hereditary and viral diseases. -- G. Krueger Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ April 15, 1997 (vol 156, no 8) / JAMC le 15 avril 1997 (vol 156, no 8) |