Webinar Insight:  Thought Leadership webinar on Unlocking the Brain – Innovations in CNS Drug Discovery and Neurodegenerative Treatment. This one-hour webinar captures an exclusive interview with Dr. Emma Mead, Chief Scientific Officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, and a lively panel discussion with Professor Moein Moghimi of Newcastle University, Dr. Shadi Farhangrazi of SMDG Discovery Group, and Dr. Ralph Minter of Alchemab – examining new technologies, translational approaches, and therapeutic opportunities while addressing challenges.

Interview Insight:  In this Q & A/interview with Raveena Bhambra, Nature Journal, Dr. Farhangrazi reveals how she came to lead an innovative and pioneering biotechnology company and what inspires her everyday to dedicate her time to developing life-saving therapies. 

The BBB accounts for the failure of a large number of promising neurotherapeutics, including nucleic acid medicines such as RNA interference (siRNA). In the past decade, we have witnessed vested efforts in finding viable strategies for drug delivery to the brain through minimally invasive routes of administration and without compromising the integrity of the BBB. 

In a groundbreaking study published October 11 in Nature Communications, an international team of scientists have designed a carrier system that delivers medicines to the brain through intravenous injection.

Professor Moein Moghimi, who led the research team, said, "Crossing the blood-brain-barrier has been a major impediment to effectively addressing central nervous system diseases, including brain tumors, and many neurological diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's. This breakthrough, based on more than 10 years of research, has significant implications for crossing the blood-brain-barrier and other biological barriers that have created challenges for drug delivery."

In a groundbreaking study published October 11 in Nature Communications, an international team of scientists  have designed a carrier system that delivers medicines to the brain through intravenous injection.

Event Insight:  SMDG will be presenting about its pioneering and innovative platforms at the Venture Capital Unit (VCU) Health Tech Showcase. The event will be attended by global investors and companies. The companies give short pitches, and  will describe their innovative solutions and groundbreaking advancements in AI-driven health tech, engineering biology and medical technologies. Each company is raising capital to fund growth and international expansion. 

Insight article:  Nanomedicine and nanotechnology delivery systems are relatively new but have shown promising results and potential for innovative new drugs.  A major breakthrough has been the development of peptide self-assemblies (also known as NanoLigand Carriers) for the delivery of nucleic acid medicines.

“Over the years, complex design (with poor pharmaceutical attributes), poor target recognition, low frequency of crossing the BBB, and poor ability to subsequently target parenchymal cells (for example, neurons and microglia cells) are among some of the major challenges for achieving drug delivery to the brain,” says Moein Moghimi, Professor of Pharmaceutics and Nanomedicine at Newcastle University. 

Professor Moein Moghimi, who led the research team, said, "Crossing the blood-brain-barrier has been a major impediment to effectively addressing central nervous system diseases, including brain tumors, and many neurological diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's. This breakthrough, based on more than 10 years of research, has significant implications for crossing the blood-brain-barrier and other biological barriers that have created challenges for drug delivery."

Professor Moghimi and his team engineered small particles using a peptide that can behave like a carrier (like viruses) to the brain and can be packed with drugs for intravenous injection. This allows for minimally invasive and combination drug delivery to the brain.

In a groundbreaking study published October 11 in Nature Communications, an international team of scientists from Newcastle University and Denver-based S M Discovery Group (SMDG) have designed a carrier system that delivers medicines to the brain through intravenous injection.

“Good products are born of good science, and good science takes time, patience, and vision.”

On April 4, 2025, Lauren Coyle, Launch Commissioning Editor, Bioconjugation Insights, spoke to Moein Moghimi, Professor of Pharmaceutics and Nanomedicine, Newcastle University and Adjoint Professor, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, about the evolution of conjugates to overcome lipid nanoparticle limitations. This article is based on that interview.

This editorial highlights advances in brain barrier and brain fluid research published in 2019, as well as addressing current controversies and pressing needs. Topics include recent advances related to:  the impact of disease states on brain barriers and brain fluids; drug delivery to the brain; and translation of preclinical data to the clinic. 

Scientists have found a way to effectively transport medication into the brain which could lead to improved treatments for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

Scientists have traditionally faced the problem that blood capillaries in the brain are not permeable to many drugs. In fact, the majority of drugs are excluded from the brain by a protective barrier, called the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), and current treatment options are risky and challenging.

Professor Moein Moghimi, who led the research team, said, "Crossing the blood-brain-barrier has been a major impediment to effectively addressing central nervous system diseases, including brain tumors, and many neurological diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's. This breakthrough, based on more than 10 years of research, has significant implications for crossing the blood-brain-barrier and other biological barriers that have created challenges for drug delivery."