Juniper Appointed Partner for Groundbreaking Cancer Drug Delivery Platform

Juniper Pharma Services, a subsidiary of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has entered into a long-term collaboration with OxSonics Ltd to support the development, scale-up, and GMP manufacturing of OxSonics’ proprietary “sono-sensitive particles.”

The collaboration will see the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) support the Oxford-based company develop these injectable particles, which when used in conjunction with new generation ultrasound devices, can be applied to a range of therapeutic applications including an oncological drug delivery platform called “SonoTran.” SonoTran is designed to enhance the delivery of anti-cancer drugs deep into and throughout solid tumours.

Dr Colin Story, CEO, OxSonics said: “Our technology has the genuine potential to deliver a step-change in the performance of a range of solid tumor cancer drugs. Taking the development of our proprietary sono-sensitive particles from a lab-scale to a clinical trial scale and grade is core to our development program and this is why we are working with Juniper Pharma Services.

“OxSonics’ main objective is to commercialise a range of medical devices including our SonoTran platform, which has the capability to overcome one of the greatest challenges facing solid tumour cancer therapy by delivering drugs throughout tumour volumes including to those areas that lie farthest from blood vessels.

“Given the innovative and novel nature of our ground-breaking technology, we need to work with a team of experts such as those at Juniper to develop and scale-up the manufacture of the technology. In addition, Juniper, on behalf of OxSonics, will manufacture the innovative technology for clinical studies.”

With an established track record of helping specialty pharmaceutical companies and emerging biotechs develop new products and platforms, Juniper Pharma Services is able to mitigate risk and optimise formulation performance through its science-led approach to projects.

Dr Nikin Patel, President at Juniper Pharma Services said: “We are very pleased that OxSonics has chosen us as its long-term partner to help develop its pioneering platform. Dr Story and his team have done a fantastic job to date and we trust our experts will add significant value to the project with regards to meeting future milestones.

“This type of project using cutting-edge technology and requiring specialist formulation development is very much in our DNA and what we are known for in the market. The added benefit for OxSonics is that Juniper operates on a single site, single team basis with fully integrated processes from early development through to clinical so we always develop with clinical production in mind, which helps us to spot and correct any issues early and saves time and money in the long run.”