Source: San Antonio Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com)
Author: staff

Azaya Therapeutics Inc. has licensed a technology that could be beneficial in treating head and neck cancers, the company said Wednesday.

The technology involves the use of liposomes to deliver radiation into the head and neck tumors through a direct injection. Company officials say they may be able to shrink the tumor, delay recurrence and avoid collateral tissue damage that often accompanies other forms of radiation therapy.

Liposomes are small, bubble-like particles that are made of the same material as cell membranes. They were engineered decades ago by the pharmaceutical industry.

The company is planning to begin a phase I clinical trial in early 2010. Azaya is licensing the technology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Scientists have been developing the radiation-infused liposome technology for the past six years.

Azaya President and CEO Michael T. Dwyer says this is a good collaborative opportunity for the company and the university.

“They have more than 15 years of expertise working with liposomes and a patent-pending method of using them to deliver radiation to a very specific tumor location,” Dwyer says. “And Azaya has a patented system for producing liposomes quickly and efficiently.”

Dwyer adds that this treatment has the potential for addressing other forms of cancer as well, including prostate, breast and brain cancer.

Azaya is a San Antonio-based pharmaceutical company with a novel drug delivery platform. Its proprietary Protein Stabilized Nanoparticles technology platform is designed to address the toxicity problems associated with the delivery of cancer treatments.