Erycaps Technology
ERYCAPS platform is a GMP compliant procedure to encapsulate active drug substances inside red blood cells using reversible hypotonic and hypertonic osmotic stress. This technology uses transfusion-grade red blood cells (RBCs) from blood donors for either autologous or allogeneic applications. RBC from donors is subjected to a hypotonic solution that causes swelling of the cells and opening of pores in the cellular membrane and drug molecules to enter the cells. Subsequently, drug loaded RBCs are introduced to a hypertonic solution causing the cells to swell to their original size, closing the pores and trapping drug molecules inside the cell. Once transfused to a human subject or a patient, active moieties are released from RBC into plasma. This provides for prolonged duration of action, superior tolerability and broad application to various drugs (single or in combination ) for various indications.
ERYCAPS is an innovative and versatile approach with significant benefits:
- Prolonged duration of activity:Â Red blood cells are biocompatible carriers that have a half-life of approximately one month in the body. This long half-life allows encapsulated therapeutic drug substances to remain in the body longer, thereby increasing the duration of their therapeutic activity and their potential efficacy with lower dosages and fewer injections.
- Decreased risk of side effects:Â The red blood cell membrane protects the body from toxicities associated with the encapsulated drug substance, reducing the potential for adverse side effects, such as allergic reactions.
- High reproducibility with rapid turnaround:Â The ERYCAPS encapsulation process is designed to produce batches of loaded red blood cells in a highly reproducible, reliable and rapid manner, regardless of the initial characteristics and origin of the red blood cells used. Delivery to the treating hospital can typically be performed within 24 hours of initiating production.
- Broad applicability:Â The ERYCAPS technology allows encapsulation of a broad range of molecules, from peptides to complex biological molecules within 1 and 500 kDalton in size, with broad applicability of therapeutic application. ERYTECH has focused the use of its platform on oncology, immuno-oncology, and enzymatic disorders.