Conversation between Neighbors Leads to OhioHealth Spinoff Focused on New Treatments for Cancer

A few years ago, Yosry Attia, who had long been looking for new uses for an existing technology, mentioned his latest work to his neighbor, Dr. Thomas Hubbell. Attia was investigating the use of aerogel to improve the targeting of cancer cells. Hubbell encouraged his neighbor to continue his pursuit and two years later, the two founded the OhioHealth spinoff BioAerogel, which is now poised to change the protocols of treating some types of cancer.

BioAerogel uses an aerogel, a gel in which the liquid component has been replaced by gas, to bind cancer cell-targeting proteins with chemotherapy drugs. When injected into a patient intravenously, the proteins within the gel attach themselves to the cancer cells at the molecular level, then deliver cancer-killing drugs to affected cells. Better targeting means smaller doses of chemotherapy drugs, less damage to healthy cells and fewer side-effects.

"The problem is, in order to get chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells, you have to immerse the body in the drugs," explains Hubbell. "That means you have to use much bigger doses than will ever reach actual cancer cells, and more healthy cells will be damaged."

"Right now, we're working on perfecting the science and process, and then we have to go through the FDA approval process," says Hubbell.

For more information, see the story in hiVelocity.