EngiNano-HF · Engineered Nanoparticles Targeting Hair Follicles for Alopecia Areata Treatment

Engineered Nanoparticles Targeting Hair Follicles for Alopecia Areata Treatment

The EngiNano-HF project has focused on the treatment of Alopecia Areata, a common autoimmune disorder resulting from damage of the hair follicle by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-producing cytotoxic T lymphocytes and characterized by non-scarring hair loss. In most cases, hair falls out in small, round patches, leaving coin-sized areas of bare skin. Some estimates indicate that approximately 15 million people suffer from Alopecia Areata in Europe alone, and nearly 2% of the world population will develop this disease at some point during their lifetime. In 2015, Prof. Christiano et al. discovered that topically administered inhibitors of Janus kinases, a family of enzymes that are downstream effectors of IFN-γ cytokine receptors, prevent the development of Alopecia Areata and promote hair regrowth. Since this significant breakthrough, many pharmaceutical companies have been investing millions of euros in the development of novel Janus kinase inhibitors, several of them currently in phase 3 clinical trials, while Baricitinib was the first approved in June 2022 for the oral treatment of Alopecia Areata. Thus, it is expected that the global Alopecia Areata market size is poised to reach USD 1.6 billion by 2027. Therefore, the impact of EngiNano-HF is profound in both human and economic terms. Unfortunately, the oral delivery of Baricitinib displays severe side effects (for instance, vomits and headaches) that compromise the adhesion of the patients to the treatment. Under this scenario, the overall objective of EngiNano-HF is the design of nanoformulations for follicular delivery able to penetrate deeply into the hair follicle, which could dramatically improve the therapeutic outcome of Baricitinib while reducing side effects. This MSCA Fellowship also aims to open the best career possibilities for Dr. Matías Picchio, a promising young scientist recently recognized by the Roal Society of Chemistry as an Emerging Investigator. After a successful PhD and 3 years of Post-Doc at CONICET (Argentina), he has decided to move to a new environment to exploit his expertise in materials science fully. This multidisciplinary project has broadened the scientific knowledge of Dr. Picchio and helped him grow and expand his European and international networks to reach a future group leader position in the materials science field.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз