ZURICH & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 28, 2026--
At present, the effectiveness of oral therapies employing a sparingly water-soluble drug is often limited by the quantity of drug that can be delivered into the blood stream. Because the drug solubility is low, the drug dissolution rate in the gastrointestinal fluid and the drug absorption rate by the blood are inherently low, too. Moreover, because the gastric residence time of the prevalent capsules and tablets is short, the drug absorption time is short. Consequently, the bioavailability ( i.e., the area under the curve of drug concentration in blood versus time) is too low.
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To mitigate this limitation, Enzian Pharmaceutics has invented, and developed, a new dosage form comprising orderly arranged, drug-bearing fibers. Upon ingestion, the fibrous tablet expands due to water absorption and forms a gel-like substance that remains in the stomach for prolonged time. The gel-like substance steadily releases drug during its gastric residence.
The concept was validated by trials on dogs using the sparingly-soluble Leukemia drug nilotinib. The Enzian dosage form resided in the stomach for about six hours, and ensured a three-times greater bioavailability than the present drug particle-filled capsule. The results were published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal RSC Pharmaceutics [ 1, 2 ].
According Dr. Aron Blaesi, Enzian’s founder and CEO, at present about 40% of approved oral-delivery drugs have compromised efficacy due to low bioavailability. The Enzian technology could be used to improve the effectiveness of many of these drugs. Moreover, Blaesi is not only thinking about marketed drugs: “I am particularly thinking about salvaging drugs that have never made it to market because of poor bioavailability,” he says. He adds: “By increasing the quantity of drug delivered, we might make many of them viable for oral therapy. This might enable bringing new drugs and new therapies to market that have so far been neglected, but with the right delivery technology could be far superior to the state of the art.”
Now Enzian is validating the fibrous dosage form on a small number of healthy human volunteers.
References
[1] A.H. Blaesi, H. Richter, N. Saka, Enhancing the bioavailability of sparingly-soluble drugs by expandable, solid-solution fibrous dosage forms, RSC Pharmaceutics, 2026, 3, 88-102. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5PM00195A
[2] RSC Pharmaceutics, 2026, 3, 265-266. https://doi.org/10.1039/D6PM90004F
About Enzian Pharmaceutics
Enzian Pharmaceutics has emerged from the doctoral thesis of Aron H. Blaesi at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was founded by Dr. Blaesi counseled by Dr. Nannaji Saka, also an MIT alumnus. Enzian develops new oral solid dosage forms for improving the effectiveness and reducing side effects of drug therapies.
Dr. Aron Blaesi, inventor of gastroretentive fibrous dosage forms, with two dosage forms in his hand: one before and one after expansion due to water absorption.
DALLAS (AP) — Julius Randle scored 31 points, Naz Reid added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 118-105 on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks were without rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who sat for left ankle injury management on the first night of a back-to-back. Flagg played the previous three games after an ankle sprain sidelined him for two games.
Klay Thompson sat with left knee soreness for Dallas, which is without 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis due to a hand injury. Star guard Kyrie Irving hasn't played all season after tearing an ACL last March.
Anthony Edwards scored 20 points for the Timberwolves, who have won consecutive games since a five-game losing streak that is their longest of the season.
P.J. Washington Jr. scored all 21 of his points in the second half for the Mavericks. Naji Marshall had 18 points and Brandon Williams 17.
Randle was 12 of 21 from the field and made all seven of his free throws. He has scored at least 21 points in 11 of his past 12 games against his hometown team.
Dallas' Max Christie had a four-game streak of 20-point games stopped on a 1-of-8 shooting night, finishing with nine points. He was 7 of 8 on free throws, but his teammates were just 19 of 31 from the line as Dallas shot 67% (26 of 39).
The Mavericks, who trailed for all but 26 seconds, had trimmed a 16-point deficit to eight late in the third quarter when Reid made a 3-pointer to start a 12-3 run to finish the quarter.
The Dallas deficit was 10 in the fourth quarter when Reid hit a short jumper and another 3 for a 106-91 lead. Reid had eight rebounds and three steals.
Both teams finish a back-to-back at home Thursday. The Timberwolves play Oklahoma City. Dallas has Charlotte.
This story is corrected to say the Mavericks had cut their deficit to eight points late in the third quarter, not the fourth.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg stands by the bench in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) leaps to the basket for a shot after getting past Dallas Mavericks' Naji Marshall (13) and Caleb Martin, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks' Jaden Hardy (1) celebrates his three-pointer in front of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) drives to the basket as Dallas Mavericks' Max Christie (00) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Timberwolves' Naz Reid (11) drives to the basket as Dallas Mavericks' Jaden Hardy, left, and Ryan Nembhard (9) defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) leaps to the basket for a shot after getting past Dallas Mavericks' Naji Marshall (13) and Caleb Martin, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
