Research
Research Areas
Radioligand Therapies for Cancer
Using our toolbox of cancer-targeting ligands, we design tumor-targeted radionuclides, including 177Lu, 225Ac, and 68Ga for the radiotherapy and radioimaging of multiple solid tumors.
Personalized Vaccines
We are developing a novel dendritic cell-targeted all-in-one vaccine for cancers and other diseases.
CAR T Cell Therapies
We develop ligand-targeted cell therapies for cancer that are specifically activated only in the tumor mass. Included among the immunotherapies is a novel universal CAR T cell therapy for all cancers and several other therapies that specifically reprogram immune cells in the tumor microenvironment without altering the same immune cells in healthy tissues.
Therapies for Aging and Age-related Diseases
We are developing immunotherapies for the aging and aging-associated diseases using our ligands for targeting senescent cells.
Antifibrotic Diseases
Fibrotic diseases can arise in essentially any organ or tissue, and collectively they account for ~45% of all deaths. In an effort to design treatments for fibrotic diseases, we have developed the ability to target drugs selectively to the activated subset of fibroblasts that produce the fibrosis. These targeted therapies show significant promise in treating most of the fibrotic diseases that plague humanity today.
Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases
With our ability to target specific immune cell type, we reprogram different immune cell types (activated macrophages, T cells, antigen presenting cells, Fc receptor expressing cells) for treatment of autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Therapies for Transplant Rejection
Approximately 10-50% of transplants are rejected every year in the US. The success rate depend on the type of organ. We have the unique ability to target the immune cells responsible for the rejection with immunosuppressants without causing collator damage to healthy tissues.
Therapies for Metabolic Diseases
We are developing therapies for metabolic diseases including diabetes, NASH, and related diseases using our ability to target the liver and pancreatic beta cells.
Therapies for Eye Diseases
Approximately 20 million Americans over 40 are living with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). We are developing therapies for AMD using our retinal pigment epithelium-targeting ligands.
Therapies for Allergies
Using our unique ability to target dendritic cells, we are designing therapies to eliminate common allergies.
Oligonucleotide Therapeutics
Recent successes of RNA- and DNA-based therapeutics has awakened an interest in exploring the use of oligonucleotide drugs (ONDs) to manipulate human biology. With our large toolbox of cell targeting ligands, we have begun to develop ligand-targeted OND-based therapies for a number of human diseases.
Fluorescence Guided Surgery
We are developing tumor-targeted fluorescent dyes for identification, localization, resection and staging of cancers during surgery.
Novel Syk Inhibitors
We have designed a number of SYK-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors and have exploited them to treat such diseases as malaria, leukemias, lymphomas, sickle cell disease, autoimmune diseases, and even Alzheimer's disease. In all cases, the key to success has been to design an inhibitor that blocks SYK while exhibiting no off-target inhibitory potency against other tyrosine kinases.