Acute Ischemic Stroke Neuroprotection Platform to overcome Care Disparities for Rural Populations - Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) results from a blood clot in the neurovasculature. AIS is the 5th leading cause of
death in the United States (US) and is the leading cause of neurological disability. AIS will strike more than
700,000 Americans in 2018 and, despite recent advances in stroke care, there remains a 65% chance of death
or severe disability. By 2030, it is expected that the AIS economic burden will exceed $180B in the US alone.
Standard-of-care AIS therapies include the use of thrombolysis within 4.5 hours of stroke onset and
thrombectomy for large vessel occlusions as early as possible. However, despite thrombectomy’s proven
value, poor access to early thrombectomy for rural populations still results in large disparities in care.
In the US, thrombectomies are largely performed at one of nearly 170 Comprehensive Stroke Centers
(CSCs). Because considerable costs are associated with setting up and maintaining a CSC, these centers are
concentrated near highly-populated urban centers, which can provide larger patient volumes. However, the
consequence is that more than half of Americans face transfer times longer than an hour, and for rural AIS
victims, who represent nearly a quarter of the US population, transfer delays can exceed two hours. As a
result, neurological outcomes for rural AIS victims tend to be worse. While neuroprotective agents are a
potentially powerful tool in preserving brain during long transfers, they have yet to be proven effective in clinical
studies. One reason for this discrepancy is that the occlusive blood clot results in restrictive hemodynamics
which prevent neuroprotectants from effectively reaching the ischemic region near and around the clot. If this
hemodynamic limitation were overcome, the benefit to rural populations would be profound.
UN&UP has invented a novel nanoparticle-based mobile-health platform which overcomes adverse stroke-
associated hemodynamics so that neuroprotective agents are better delivered to the ischemic volume. The
technology conveys iron oxide nanoparticles into the blood flow-deprived region of ischemia using a mode of
action that is efficacious for conjugated and unconjugated drugs. Importantly, the system is affordable and
designed to travel with the AIS victim during transfer. While conjugation of the neuroprotectant promises to
substantially improve efficacy, regulatory discussions support that the technology could be first regulated under
the CDRH if therapeutics are unconjugated. The team reflects magnetics, robotics, nanoparticle, stroke, and
neuroprotection experts, who have demonstrated prior commercial successes. The Phase I effort focuses on
proof of concept of the platform. The aims include 1) prototype workstation construction, 2) prototype coated
iron oxide particle formulation, 3) in vitro large-vessel occlusion phantom efficacy studies using CTA/MRA
stroke datasets, and 4) in vivo efficacy and safety assessments using a known AIS animal model. Prior to
Phase II, an FDA meeting is planned to inform the regulatory pathway. In Phase II, the best neuroprotectant
agents will be identified and compared, and biocompatibility studies will be conducted.
