The field of nanomedicine is inherently multidisciplinary requiring the involvement of those with knowledge of engineering, physics, chemistry, biology as well as medicine. The commercialization of nanomedicine adds further complexity and requires additional participation from those with experience in manufacturing, intellectual property, regulatory issues, strategic partnering, and raising investment. Suffice it to say, getting a nanomedicine to the clinic is a tremendous challenge. Given that nanomedicine is still a fairly nascent area, most nanomedicines are currently being developed in academia.

The Wyss Institute at Harvard University

The Wyss Institute at Harvard University is a collaborative effort between researchers, clinicians, corporations, and startups. The Institute is partnership between the following entities:

Programmable, or smart, nanomaterials can be formed from numerous types of materials including metals, polymers, and ceramics. At the Wyss Institute, nucleic acids (RNA, DNA) are the building blocks of their programmable nanomaterials. Nucleic acid-based nanostructures such as DNA origami are being developed to enable multiplexed diagnostic assays and medical imaging techniques and to form nanoparticle drug carriers targeting diseased sites within the body.

Heres a video from the Wyss Institutes website discussing DNA-based programmable nanomaterials.

To facilitate the launch of new ideas that may transcend into potential medical solutions, the Wyss Institute offers small grants to faculty at Harvard and collaborating academic institutions and medical centers. These grants enable exploratory research that would otherwise be too early-stage for government or industry funding. These early-stage grants are a much-needed source of financing as early-stage funding is extremely challenging to obtain, especially for life sciences efforts.

At the other end of the spectrum of commercialization, complementary to seed grants, the Wyss Institute actively seeks industrial partnerships. These partnerships can help with not only providing additional funding to promising projects, but also in giving insight to researchers regarding market opportunities. The industrial partners are also potential licensees of technologies developed at the Wyss institute, helping to bring the ideas to fruition and eventual commercialization.

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