# Multimeric Peptide Copolymer Formulations for Targeted Drug Delivery to Treat Nervous System Disorders

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $365,425

## Abstract

Multimeric Peptide Copolymer Formulations for Targeted Drug Delivery to Treat
Nervous System Disorders
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neuromuscular disease that leads to
progressive muscle wasting, autonomic dysfunction and death within 5 years of
diagnosis, and each year >16,000 people are diagnosed. As research has made
tremendous strides in understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie disease
progression, pre-clinical research has demonstrated the potential of nerve growth factor
(NGF), glial derived and neural derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF and BDNF), and
targeted biologics to halt disease progression. However, the clinical translation of
therapeutics to treat ALS and other nervous system disorders has lagged due to
complications associated with systemic administration or transient blood-brain barrier
damage. By using a bacteriophage biopanning strategy to perform an affinity based
screen, we aim to exploit a CNS entry pathway similar to rabies virus infection to
circumvent the barriers of systemic delivery and target therapeutics to neurons directly.
Thus, we propose to identify novel targeting peptides and biologics delivery strategies to
treat nervous system diseases. By using a bacteriophage biopanning strategy to perform
an affinity based screen, we have recently identified a peptide motif, TAxI, that mediates
uptake and delivery of a biologically active protein to the CNS after intramuscular
injection. Here, we demonstrate the ability of CNS targeting-peptides to deliver a model
drug into the CNS after IP injection. We propose to evaluate how aging and disease
progression impacts targeted drug delivery to the CNS with the goal of designing and
synthesizing materials for pre-clinical testing in a model of ALS. In this proposal, we
build upon TAxI by developing copolymer materials and a human TAxI-peptide for
translatable CNS delivery formulations to deliver biologics into the diseased CNS non-
invasively.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10029634
- **Project number:** 1R01NS118247-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Drew L Sellers
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $365,425
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-06-15 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10029634

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10029634, Multimeric Peptide Copolymer Formulations for Targeted Drug Delivery to Treat Nervous System Disorders (1R01NS118247-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10029634. Licensed CC0.

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