The technology, invented by faculty at CSU's Animal Cancer Center, will be used to treat humans with cancer.

“This new invention uses a targeting molecule on the outer surface of a bubble-like structure known as a liposome,” the university reports in a prepared statement. “The molecule enhances the uptake of liposomes by macrophages. Upon uptake by macrophages, a bisphosphonate inside the liposome is released within the macrophage, causing cell death and reducing of a wide array of cancer-promoting cellular signals.”

Liposome targeting technology reduces tumor growth and spread in animals with cancer as well as in dogs with spontaneous malignant histiocytosis, a disease that causes histiocytes, which are a type of cell involved in the immune response, to grow abnormally as cancer cells, the university explains.

Jovesis is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutics for cancer.

NeoTREX is the enterprise arm of the Cancer Supercluster at Colorado State University.