Nano4Derm involves the development and physico-chemical and biological characterisation of nanocapsules containing active ingredients, and the generation of scalable formulation prototypes for manufacturing nanoformulations suitable for clinical trials. These innovative formulations will address current unmet needs and challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance, and provide improved topical treatments for Acne and Psoriasis, in terms of side effects, instability of active ingredients, and skin penetration.

Under the terms of the agreement, ICMAB-CSIC and Leitat research centers will be in charge of developing the different prototypes of nanocapsules containing the active ingredients while Almirall will be responsible for the development of formulations containing the encapsulated actives. Furthermore, Almirall and Leitat will evaluate in preclinical studies both the new nanocapsules and formulations in order to select the best solution to address the unmet medical needs in the topical treatment of Acne and Psoriasis.

This agreement will lead to the development of two types of nanocapsules: Quatsomes and Polymeric Nanocapsules. Quatsomes are lipid nanoparticles with higher colloidal stability than liposomes, which favors the production of high quality, pharmaceutical formulations. They are obtained from the DELOS-SUSP, a technology developed by researchers from the NANOMOL group based on the use of supercritical fluids such as CO2. This technology has advantages over other manufacturing methodologies in terms of homogeneity and scalability, as it replaces the use of organic solvents by green solvents. Polymeric Nanocapsules are developed by the Leitat Technology Center, and provide versatility to the project as they can be designed with different drug release profiles depending on the needs being addressed.

This project is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the announcement of the State Program for R&D&i (2016), orientated to the Society Challenges, modality RETOS-Collaboration 2016, and co-financed by FEDER funds from the European Commission.