LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A16-059

Description

Chronic neuropathic pain is a commonly occurring condition and a painful and debilitating problem for millions of Americans. The bulk of these neuropathic pains result from induced peripheral neuropathies, most commonly associated with diabetes, chemotherapy-treated cancers, and extremity injuries. Many drugs that have been shown effective in pain management when taken orally have extremely narrow therapeutic windows to prevent toxicity or undesirable side effects. In order to address the issues with drug-treatment of peripheral neuropathy, Luna Innovations proposes the development of a unique and highly-controllable nanofiber-based transdermal drug delivery system known as TuneCoat-2TM for the delivery of liposome-based nerve targeting drugs. The drug delivery nanofiber dressing will be used topically at the site of injury, will be applied by the patient, and will be designed to function with compression garments to permit use by patients who also suffer from secondary lymphedema. The fabrication protocol will allow for inclusion of multiple drugs in a single bandage with control over the delivery of each drug. Lunas TuneCoat-2TM dressing will significantly advance treatment of peripheral neuropathies and will be designed using only FDA-approved polymers and drugs, providing a relatively straight-forward approach towards clinical studies, FDA approval, and marketing.