BioCentury
ARTICLE | Emerging Company Profile

Nanospectra: Shell game

December 15, 2003 8:00 AM UTC

Photodynamic therapy against cancers or other proliferative diseases has met with some therapeutic success. However, it uses toxic substances and its application is limited by the wavelengths of light employed, which do not penetrate human tissue. Nanospectra Biosciences Inc. believes its Nanoshell technology solves both problems. The company delivers inert nanoparticles to solid tumors that can be heated to ablate the tumors at infrared wavelengths not absorbed by blood and tissue.

According to President J. Donald Payne, nanoshells allow for deeper light delivery and non-toxic treatment than PDT such as Visudyne verteporfin from QLT Inc. (TSE:QLT; QLTI, Vancouver, B.C.) and partner Novartis AG (NVS; SWX:NOVN, Basel, Switzerland). Visudyne is marketed to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD)...