Imagine a smart jelly that doctors place directly into the brain during tumor surgery. This jelly slowly releases a powerful medicine that hunts down hidden cancer cells that surgeons can't see or reach. It acts like a local security guard, protecting the area and killing resistant cells before they can grow back.
Glioblastoma has a devastating 5-year survival rate of 6.8% because surgeons cannot remove all cells and current chemotherapy is often resisted. There is a critical gap in treatment between surgery and radiation where tumors frequently recur.
A hydrogel-based formulation of the small molecule piperlongumine (NANO-PL) that is applied locally during brain surgery to kill resistant cancer cells.
If you are a drug developer dealing with the blood-brain barrier blocking medication — this project developed NANO-PL that bypasses this barrier via local application. It targets resistant cells and showed 40% long-term survival in rat models.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with the failure of existing local implants like Gliadel — this project developed a hydrogel matrix with a superior diffusion profile. This allows the treatment to attack infiltrating tumor cells more effectively.
If you are a biotech firm dealing with the high recurrence rates of Glioblastoma — this project developed a one-time treatment applied during surgery. It fills the critical time window between surgery and chemotherapy to prevent local recurrence.
Based on available project data, specific pricing is not mentioned, but the project received an EU contribution of EUR 2,499,999 for clinical validation.
The project is currently moving into clinical validation, which is a prerequisite for industrial scaling. Based on available project data, the technology has reached a maturity level to start global clinical trials.
The technology is developed by TARGTEX SA, an SME. Specific licensing terms are not provided in the project data.
The project period is from 2024-11-01 to 2026-10-31, focusing on clinical validation. Market entry would follow the successful completion of these trials.
It is designed as a one-time treatment applied locally by the neurosurgeon during the maximal safe surgical resection of the tumor.
The project is led by a single Portuguese SME, TARGTEX SA, which holds 100% of the industry ratio. This lean structure suggests the company owns the full IP and is utilizing the EUR 2,499,999 grant to move from preclinical success directly into clinical validation.
Contact TARGTEX SA in Portugal
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for NANO-PL hydrogel technology.
