How this technology is transforming medicines and vaccines

Intracellular drug delivery is a fundamental aspect of pharmacology as it facilitates the passage of drugs towards specific targets in the body. There are a range of non-viral drug delivery systems that have the potential to be used for the delivery of RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, with a major focus on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) due to their successful application and use in mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.

With the creation of this centre, funded by Innovate UK, our main goal is to accelerate the advancement of RNA-based therapies for improved healthcare, helping the UK become a global leader in intracellular drug delivery platforms. To do this, our centre leadership team provides thought leadership to the UK ecosystem, enabling cross-sector learning and knowledge transfer.

By collaborating with academia and industry, this new centre explores how the chemistry and formulation of drug delivery systems affect both physicochemical characteristics and biological performance. It provides vital knowledge to accelerate the development of new approaches that boost the efficiency and specificity of drug delivery.

What are the challenges?

Despite the advancements, the field of drug delivery continues to face both technical and commercial challenges. A major issue is the lack of correlation between in vitro and in vivo results, meaning current analytical methods are not always predictive of biological performance. There’s also a need to create new formulations using active and passive targeting that enable RNA therapies to reach different target tissues and cells beyond the liver, as well as enhancing payload transport and release within the body.

Beyond the lab, there are also challenges in storage and transportation and a need for enhanced thermostability. Moving forward, commercial and development challenges include unclear regulatory pathways, a complex IP landscape and high licensing costs. There remain opportunities to enhance manufacturing approaches, so processes can be developed and scaled in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.

Many companies and organisations need help to overcome all of these challenges, and none can do it alone. Before the creation of this centre, it was very difficult for smaller companies innovating in this area to access specialist support to develop their intracellular drug delivery technology. Through our centre of excellence, we’re changing just that.

How will this centre tackle these challenges?

By operating a Centre of Excellence with infrastructure, capability and knowhow, we’re supporting companies and academics to adopt radical and disruptive innovation in the development and manufacture of drug products based on RNA.

We envision a future of a strong and centralised UK community within drug delivery research and innovation. Through this centre of excellence, we can further foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. Drug delivery technology is crucial to advancements in vaccines and public health, so this centre is a vital asset to enable the UK to lead the charge in this hugely important area.

Our goal is to foster a dynamic ecosystem that catalyses breakthroughs in RNA-based drug development and manufacturing. In doing this, we will: help translate research activities, enable cross sector learning and knowledge transfer, and de-risk the adoption by industry providing a clear focus for inward investment to the UK whilst supporting the existing community of innovators in this vital area of research.

By pooling expertise, facilities and insight into one distributed centre of excellence we provide a single point of entry to drug delivery innovators while laying the foundation for a thriving UK community of research and development excellence.