Chow Lab of Drug Delivery and Translational Research

This research has pioneered the development of the inaugural cocrystal of Remdesivir (an approved drug for COVID-19 treatment), and subsequently reformulated it into an inhalable dry powder for pulmonary delivery. This formulation approach circumvents the metabolic breakdown of Remdesivir into an inactive form, which can occur through oral administration. A US non-provisional patent application has been filed for the cocrystal.

This study integrated flash nanoprecipitation with our prior in-situ thermal gelation and spray drying technology for a one-step, continuous production of inhalable nanoagglomerate dry powders. The finding derived from this study also led to a US provisional patent application and a Silver Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva.

This reseach demonstrated the importance of a drug’s glass-forming ability and annealing conditions for efficient cocrystal screening. By applying the optimal temperature to surmount high activation energy based on the glass transition behaviours, new cocrystals that are inaccessible by traditional methods can be discovered, thereby expediting new drug development. Our findings have also led to a Silver Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva.

This study highlighted the use of Design of Experiment (DoE) in the production of size-tunable nanoparticles with controlled properties. It also delineated the impact of nanoparticles with particle sizes of <200 nm on their bio-fate, facilitating the rational design of drug nanoparticles for targeted therapy.

This study studied the phase transformation of cocrystals under various dissolution conditions, providing insights into mitigating the risk of recrystallization of drug polymorphs. It further showcased the potential use of cocrystals in drug polymorph preparation, which is crucial to the evolution of cocrystal-based drug development.

This research reported a novel technique for fabricating redispersible drug-loaded nanoagglomerates dry powders for deep lung delivery. The findings from this work directly led to a successful grant application from Health and Medical Research Fund from the HKSAR government.