Details of Four Advanced Iranian Nanodrugs: From Blood Cancer Treatment to Acute Infection

Iranian technologists have taken a major step toward health system self-sufficiency, reducing clinical complications and stabilizing the price of medical services by commercializing four advanced nanodrugs, clinical equipment and screening kits.

According to the Mehr reporter, based on the directions of the "National Document for the Development of Science and Nanotechnology", the third decade of the development of this technology will be followed with a mission-oriented innovation approach; An approach in which nano capabilities are used to solve the priority issues and challenges of the country, including food security, health, environment, water and energy. In this regard, the capabilities of the country's technologists have been directly mobilized to respond to the major and priority challenges of the country, especially in the field of health, so that the concrete fruits of technology can be felt in the lives of the people and the national economy.

Statistics show that this strategy has been able to target the monopoly of importing advanced pharmaceutical items. According to the country's official pharmaceutical statistics, midostaurin for cancer treatment, amorolphin for skin fungal infections, injectable iron for treating anemia in CKD patients, liposal amphotericin B for treating acute fungal infections and 228 Fap for diagnosing and treating microtumors had cost the health system more than 400 million dollars in a four-year period. Local diagnostics, the majority of this cost will be reduced and the country's technologists have succeeded in localizing these drugs.

Production of nanomedicine for the treatment of invasive and fatal fungal infections

Among the fruitful nanomedicines, liposomal amphotericin B has a vital place. This is the gold standard product and the first-line drug for the treatment of invasive and fatal fungal infections such as mucormycosis (black fungus), pulmonary aspergillosis and advanced candidiasis, which generally threaten the lives of immunocompromised patients, people undergoing heavy chemotherapy, and bone marrow and vital organ transplant recipients. Due to its chemical structure, the classic and old molecule of this drug has a strong tendency to bond with the cholesterol of human kidney cells, which always led to acute failure and severe kidney damage during the treatment period.

Using advanced drug delivery systems, the country's nanotechnologists enclosed the amphotericin molecule in spherical phospholipid vesicles with dimensions less than 100 nm. This protective membrane allows the nanomedicine to pass through the bloodstream without damaging the renal tubules and targets the ergosterol in the fungal cell wall in a completely selective and specific way. While the preparation of each vial of the foreign sample of this vital drug requires the payment of 340 dollars in foreign currency, the locally produced version is distributed in the domestic market at a price of about 1 million and 100 thousand tomans.

midostaurin nanomedicine; Targeted mutation to stop leukemia

Another strategic achievement in the field of oncology is the localization of the drug "Midostaurin" by the country's technologists, whose imported sample is known as Ridepet. This drug is a specific and multifunctional tyrosine kinase inhibitor on a molecular scale that inhibits lethal genetic mutations including FLT3 and KIT receptors in malignant cells. Mutations in these markers are the main cause of development and relapse in one of the most violent and aggressive types of leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as advanced systemic mastocytosis.

Localization of one of the most expensive drugs in the world pharmaceutical market

Midostaurin blocks the uncontrollable proliferation of malignant blood cells by interrupting intracellular signaling pathways, leading the cancer cell to undergo programmed death. The foreign brand version of this drug is classified as one of the most expensive items in the world's pharmaceutical market, with a price of 12,700 dollars for each course of treatment. The localization of this combination and its placement on the threshold of entering the market and official government pricing stages will open a promising horizon for families dealing with leukemia and will prevent the imposition of back-breaking foreign currency costs on the treatment system.

The end of anemia crisis in chronic kidney patients

The third transformative nanomedicine of this series is the advanced nanocomplex of "injectable iron" based on ferric carboxymaltose, which is used as an efficient solution to control iron deficiency anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure (CKD). These patients suffer from severe anemia and are resistant to oral pills due to the kidney's inability to secrete erythropoietin hormone and continuous inflammations caused by hemodialysis. On the other hand, traditional forms of iron injection also carry a high risk of releasing toxic free iron ions and causing allergic reactions and anaphylactic shocks.

Nano technology is manifested in this product by engineering a colloidal core-shell structure; In such a way that the dense core of iron hydroxide on the nano scale is surrounded by a protective shell of carboxymaltose. This intelligent design prevents the sudden release of iron in the blood vessels and allows the injection of high doses of 500 to 1000 mg of iron in a short period of 15 to 30 minutes without the need for long hospitalizations and frequent blood transfusions. While the imported sample of this specialized medicine has a price equivalent to 220 dollars, the domestically manufactured sample has been launched in the clinical market at a price of 1,700,000 tomans.

Nanopolymer formulation of Danesh Banyans for the treatment of resistant fungi

"Amorolfin" drug is a technological answer to the treatment of resistant fungal nail infections (onychomycosis). Due to its hard and compact keratin structure, the nail tissue is considered a serious barrier against the penetration of conventional skin creams and ointments. By formulating this compound inside a nanostructured polymer film, domestic knowledge-based technologists have provided the possibility of deep penetration of the effective substance into the nail bed and its continuous and slow release. This medicinal varnish remains stable against water and daily washing after use and shortens the duration of the treatment period. While the main foreign brand of this drug (Loseril from France) cost about 35 dollars and brought a burden of foreign exchange for patients, the local product has been placed and distributed in the country's official drug list at about one-seventh of the price of the imported sample and with a competitive quality.

Stabilization of dental tariffs by relying on domestically manufactured nano-based equipment

In the field of dentistry and dental prostheses, where a major part of the financial burden was borne by the private sector and families, domestic technologists have succeeded in commercializing key items such as "dental sealer", "advanced dental nano adhesives" and "zirconia blocks" with high-level technology. With good mechanical strength, improved biocompatibility, and containment of microleakage, these items have brought clinical quality standards to a level comparable to authentic European and American samples and have provided a platform for stabilizing the cost of dental services.

Along with the development of consumables, "bipolar needles based on nanotechnology" have officially entered the hospital circuit in the high-tech surgery sector. These equipments minimize the thermal damage to the adjacent healthy tissues during the operation by distributing the electrosurgical currents uniformly and purposefully in very fine scales and improve the accuracy of the surgeons in sensitive procedures.

Inexpensive and rapid screening of gastrointestinal and liver cancers with native nanostructured kits

But perhaps the most vital manifestation of the introduction of nano into clinical equipment is in the field of rapid and early diagnosis; Where time plays a life and death role in the healing process. The introduction of "quantitative and rapid diagnostic kits for CEA and AFP tumor markers" has provided the capacity to screen and monitor the recurrence of malignant gastrointestinal and liver tumors at a much higher speed and at a much lower cost than conventional laboratory methods.

Along with this commercialization and the introduction of "antibiogram tablets based on nanoparticles" for the immediate identification and separation of infectious species and resistant bacterial strains, it is considered a preventive solution in curbing deadly antimicrobial resistance. By shortening the cycle of the antibiogram process from several days to limited hours, these diagnostic platforms have made it possible for the treatment team to choose the exact antibiotic protocol from the first hours and have drawn another protective shield against the wastage of resources and clinical complications.