NaNotics, a biopharmaceutical company developing NaNots® – novel subtractive nanoparticles that treat disease by capturing and clearing pathogenic molecules from blood – today announced that it has been selected for the inaugural SPACE-H Accelerator program – a collaboration between Starburst, NASA’s Human Research Program (NASA HRP), the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), Methuselah Foundation, and Microsoft Federal. The SPACE-H mission is “to support entrepreneurs working to advance biological and medical capabilities with the potential to minimize the health and performance risks in human spaceflight.”
Space is a harsh and inhospitable environment for humans, posing unique health challenges for crew and passengers. Environmental factors can accelerate aging and give rise to various diseases. Treatment options are limited by the size, weight and training required to operate medical technology commonly used on Earth. Multiple space exploration programs – including Artemis, which seeks to establish a permanent lunar base – are now creating new opportunities to advance biological research and support the development of next generation, autonomous systems for maintaining astronaut health on long duration spaceflights.
“Space-H has been set up specifically to accelerate advanced health systems to support space exploration,” said Starburst’s USA Managing Director, Elizabeth Reynolds. “We selected NaNotics LLC for our inaugural program because NaNots® – a highly novel therapeutic platform – have the potential to address significant medical challenges associated with deep space travel.”
NaNots are a new class of medicine for treating cancer and inflammatory diseases, by adsorbing specific molecules from blood that drive or enable these diseases. For instance, profound tumor suppression can be achieved via adsorption of tumor-generated immune inhibitors, as reported by Mayo Clinic, which tested NaNots in a humanized mouse model of triple negative breast cancer – which responds poorly to conventional drugs. Deadly “cytokine storms” can also be extinguished with NaNots that rapidly adsorb the inflammatory molecules that drive these storms. NaNots are especially well-suited for use in deep space because they can be administered by simple injection, with target depletion confirmed using portable blood analyzers.
“We’re very excited to have been selected for the first cohort of the SPACE-H program,” said Lou Hawthorne, CEO of NaNotics and the inventor of NaNots®. “The SPACE-H program is run by some of the world’s top technologists; their interest in our work speaks to the advanced nature of the NaNot platform and its potential significance for maintaining health in space as well as on Earth.”
For more information on NaNots and their potential use in space, download the company white paper – “NaNots for Astronauts” – available here.
About NaNotics LLC
NaNotics LLC is a late preclinical-stage company based in Mill Valley, CA. The company is developing a pipeline of NaNots® against a range of oncology and inflammatory targets driving numerous diseases with significant unmet medical need. NaNots are designed specifically to tackle soluble targets, meaning molecules dissolved in blood, and can even discriminate between biochemically identical soluble and membrane targets, one of many ways that NaNots outperform antibody drugs. NaNotics has 38 granted patents to date on the NaNot® platform in the US and in key foreign countries. To learn more, visit https://nanotics.com/ or follow NaNotics on LinkedIn.
About SPACE-H
SPACE-H is a Space Health Accelerator program that serves to drive innovation and investment into next-generation biological and medical technology to enable space exploration. SPACE-H is a new initiative designed by Starburst, in collaboration with NASA’s Human Research Program (NASA HRP), the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), and Methuselah Foundation, made possible by support from Microsoft Federal.
Under the Artemis program, NASA is focused on returning humans to the Moon and establishing sustainable lunar operations as a foundation for future deep space missions. These missions present new challenges and a new opportunity to expand the field of players working to solve the health and performance risks in human spaceflight. For the inaugural year of SPACE-H, the focus will be on resilient, autonomous health and performance systems, in support of Artemis and future deep space exploration. Learn more about SPACE-H at https://www.spacehealthaccelerator.com.
