Industries
Subsidiaries of Salvona L.L.C are focused on the commercialization of products for various industries including:
- Health Care
- Consumer Care and General Personal Care
- Nutraceutical and Food Additives
- Fabric and Household
1). Health care: Delivery systems of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), medical devices used for diagnostics, delivery of API or related substances, controlled by FDA regulations.
Proprietary delivery systems are based on a broad array of patented nanotechnology engineered solutions to address challenges ranging from lifecycle extension of proven drugs to delivering promising new drugs emerging at the cutting edge of the biotechnology industry. The proprietary nanotechnology platforms include nanospheres, microspheres, invisible patches, and bio-degradable devices, to address issues such as: stability, controlled release, targeted delivery, etc.
The nanotechnology platforms developed in Salvona target the following market segments:
- Oral Hygiene and Therapy – technologies include flavor and taste masking, deposition and controlled release of API.
- Oral Drug Delivery – oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs for protection from stomach degradation, and targeted delivery of API.
- Oral Vaccination and Protein Delivery.
- Topical and Trans-dermal Drug Delivery – nanotechnology engineered soluble patches for topical and trans-dermal drug delivery.
- Diagnostic – biodegradable timer that degrades inside the body in the gastrointestinal track over time in a controlled manner. This high-end diagnostic device (wireless endoscopy) is taken orally and dissolves in a predetermined time.
- Implantable and Biodegradable Devices – biodegradable matrices that are marketed as temporary implants for tissue regeneration and diagnostic products.
- Gene Therapy – delivery of DNA, RNA, and proteins through nanotechnology.
- Targeted Delivery for Cancer Therapy – delivery of actives to solid tumors through nanotechnology.
- Inhaled Drug Delivery – pulmonary drug delivery of nanospheres through spray or aerosol applications.
Salvona has a successful track record in commercializing cost-effective controlled-release technologies for oral hygiene, diagnostic, and personal care products.
THE MARKET
Nanotechnology drug delivery systems are expected to dramatically reshape the way existing drugs are delivered. The benefits of nanotech-based drug delivery systems will be dramatic, with lower drug toxicity, specific targeting and reduced treatment costs.
Targeted delivery: At present many drugs fail clinical trails because the compound cannot be delivered to the site where it is needed without having some interaction with the human body along the way. Results can range from triggering a severe immune system response to toxic side effects. Getting the active compound to where it is needed, and effectively delivering it is one of the holy grails in the treatment of diseases ranging from inflammation to cancer. Due to their small size, nanospheres can permeate through cell walls and easily move across many biological barriers, such as gut epithelium or leaky endothelium in tumor tissues. As we control and manipulate the surface characteristics of these systems, the prospect of both passive and active targeting can also be greatly improved.
Safety: Compounds which are highly effective, such as Taxol for the treatment of cancer, are also toxic to healthy cells, and current delivery methods are unable to target just the diseased cell, leading to side effects. Salvona delivery systems offer drug formulation companies the ability to use these already in-use drugs and find better ways of delivering them to their targets. All Salvona technology platforms consist of food approved or GRAS (generally regarded as safe) materials following FDA regulations and manufactured through environmentally friendly processes, thus easy to commercialize.
Efficacy: Many drugs have poor solubility, a major problem when the human body is 70% water. In general, poor water solubility correlates with slow dissolution rate, by decreasing the particle size the surface area increases, which leads to an increase in dissolution rate. Salvona NanoSal™ and SalSphere™ based technology is designed to address this need.
Life Cycle: Controlled drug delivery is a widely recognized high-growth sector within the US $300 billion pharmaceutical market (PR Newswire, New York August 2001). Many high profit pharmaceutical drug patents are expected to expire over the next decade, resulting in an estimated loss of $30-$40 billion in annual product revenues as generic drugs enter the market. Drug delivery technologies are patentable therefore new products can be developed giving old drugs surrogate protection at a relatively low cost. This is immensely attractive for the pharmaceutical industry as billions of dollars in drugs are coming off patent protection. Salvona’s multiple delivery systems can address this need.
Salvona Vision: Create nanotechnology engineered delivery systems and biodegradable devices based on understanding the technical and clinical needs, as well as the business opportunities in the Health Care market. The company’s goal is to play a leading role, collaborating with strategic companies that own API to develop new opportunities for consumers.
2). Consumer Care and General Personal Care: Delivery systems of cosmeceuticals, cosmetic functional ingredients, and ingredients contributing to sensory effects, such as perfume, flavors, and cooling and warming agents. Also included in this category are OTC products such as anti-acne, analgesics, etc., that do not require a prescription.
These products are designed for topical applications only, include sphere of different size and chemical properties to insure surface attachment, local release, without dermal penetration. All technology platforms are composed of food approved, GRAS (generally regarded as safe), organic or synthetic materials to follow FDA and CTFA requirements and designed to fit within today’s accepted manufacturing techniques.
Salvona is committed to utilizing only environmentally friendly, biodegradable materials and environmentally friendly processes. All processes involve water as diluents no organic solvents are used for processing or preparation.
3). Nutraceutical and Food Additives: Delivery of food additives used as supplement to food supplements and beverages. These delivery systems are designed for oral consumption in both fine powder and liquid suspensions forms. The need for these delivery systems appears in all kinds of food products such as frozen and prepared foods, gum, candy, beverages, dry baking mixes to name a few.
The major technical challenges in food, in which delivery systems can be used, include the following:
- Extending product freshness and shelf life: Maintains biological potency, health value, and perception of freshness.
- Long lasting release: Product heating provides a long lasting aroma released to the air, and upon consumption, provides an extended sensation in the user’s mouth.
- Triggered release: Activated by the consumer or surrounding environment, such as the addition of heat, water, or combining of an enzyme, the product can be designed to release a pleasant aroma, or used to signal a fresh and appetizing product.
- Convenience: Technology that prolongs the shelf life for storage of food, and shortens preparation time.
4). Fabric and Household: Delivery systems used for household products, including but not limited to fragrances, anti-septic agents, brighteners, stain removal, etc. Technologies are geared toward cleansing and conditioning of fabric and surfaces, while at the same time adding deodorizing power and other functional ingredients onto the fabric through the laundry cycle. These technologies not only save time and effort in the ability to clean fabrics and surfaces appropriately, but also address the ever-emerging global challenge of conserving water while cleansing.
