Recent outbreaks with novel coronaviruses including SARS and MERS as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscore existing limitations in managing these deadly pathogens. According to the World Health Organization, there have been over 4.3 million confirmed cases of COVID- 19 and ~300,000 deaths to date. SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 infect the airway and in severe cases, a dysregulated immune response leads to a “cytokine storm”. This causes an infiltration of immune cells into the lungs and throughout the body, injuring healthy tissue and causing death due to respiratory failure. There are no specific treatments for these viral infections, therefore, new strategies are urgently needed in order to significantly reduce mortality rates.

This conceptual technology presents a novel strategy to combat a “cytokine storm” through direct inhibition of inflammatory mediators. This would be achieved through the use of functionalized nanoparticles that carry antibodies with specificity for select cytokines, chemokines, and interferons. Nanoparticle-based therapeutic delivery systems are a major developmental focus for infectious disease as well as cancer and other chronic diseases. Likewise, there is tremendous emphasis on the development of immunotherapeutics, which target critical mediators of the host immune response.

Competitive Advantages

• No existing therapeutics with specificity for coronaviruses Nanoparticles are being widely explored for their ability to enhance drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy
• Quantum dots are small and biocompatible
• Target the host immune response as opposed to the pathogen, thereby mitigating the risk for drug resistance and subsequent loss of therapeutic efficacy

Opportunity

• Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global antiviral market was valued at $56.4 billion. Antiviral therapeutics are 2nd only to cancer.
• The global market for targeted therapeutics including nanoparticles and antibodies is forecasted to reach a value of $319 billion by 2021.

Rowan University is seeking a partner(s) for further development and commercialization of this technology. The inventor is available to collaborate with interested companies.