Fast and to the point

Shasqi Inc. is developing a drug delivery platform for safe targeting to tumors, based on "bioorthoganol chemistry," in which a pair of biologically inert molecules only react with each other and not the body's cells. While similar platforms have failed to produce therapeutically relevant doses where they are needed, Shasqi is solving the problem by injecting faster-acting, longer-lived chemicals directly into tumors, rather than relying on a molecular targeting agent.

Typical bioorthogonal chemistry relies on a cell-specific antibody to anchor one of the two chemicals to a tumor and systemic delivery of a prodrug linked to the second chemical. A covalent reaction binds the prodrug to the tumor, where it spontaneously converts into its active form. But the antibodies often don't target enough of the first chemical to the tumor, and the in vivo instability of both chemicals, coupled with the slow rate of reactions between them, further limit the amount of active drug that accumulates in situ. ...