A clever way to deliver medicine to brain cancers
Official title: Smart CSF Delivery System for CNS Drug Therapy for Leptomeningeal Disease
Funded at Enclear Therapies, INC. · NIH-11120986 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is developing a new method to deliver cancer drugs directly to the brain and spinal cord, aiming to better treat cancers that have spread there.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 1 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Enclear Therapies, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newburyport, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $107,649 |
| NIH project number | 5R43CA281429-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11120986 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Future patients with cancers that have spread to the brain and spinal cord, such as leptomeningeal disease, could potentially benefit from this research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without cancers affecting the brain and spinal cord would not directly benefit from this specific drug delivery approach.
What this research studies
Treating cancer cells in the brain is tough because a natural barrier, called the blood-brain barrier, blocks many medicines. While some drugs can be given directly into the spinal fluid, they often don't spread well or deeply enough into the brain tissue. This project is creating a special system to control how cancer drugs circulate in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. By actively managing the drug's flow, this system hopes to deliver more medicine precisely to the areas where cancer cells are located.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this new delivery method could lead to more effective treatments for brain cancers by ensuring drugs reach the tumor more directly and efficiently.
How similar studies have gone: While direct delivery of chemotherapy into spinal fluid has been used, this project introduces a novel platform for actively controlling drug circulation, which is a new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Enclear Therapies, INC.
Newburyport, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Glicksman, Marcie a — Enclear Therapies, INC.
- Study coordinator: Glicksman, Marcie a
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.