WE USE POLYMER THERAPEUTICS, CONSIDERED THE FIRST POLYMERIC NANOMEDICINES, TO DESIGN NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR SEVERAL APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING CANCERS, NEURODEGENERATION, AND TISSUE REGENERATION.
With many products already on the market, two of them top-ten best selling drugs in the USA (Copaxone and Neulasta), polymer therapeutics has already attained clinical proof-of-concept. However, new opportunities to expand and develop this technological platform still exist in areas such as:
- The delivery of single/combination anti-cancer agents directed against novel molecular targets.
- The development of novel polymeric materials with defined architectures.
- Treatment of diseases other than cancer, such as neurodegeneration.
The polymer therapeutics laboratory at the CIPF focuses on these exciting areas of investigation. Our research activity aims to design advanced polymer conjugates—novel therapeutic and/or diagnostic nanopharmaceuticals with applications in metastatic cancer, neurodegeneration, and tissue regeneration among others.
We are taking several approaches to try to achieve specific and effective therapeutic polymer treatments for a range of diseases and disorders. This includes the development of polypeptide-based biodegradable carriers, application of combination therapies, and design of nanoconjugates and hybrid systems that are specific to novel molecular targets.
Additionally, we have implemented quantitative tools to assess the in vitro and in vivo fate of polymer therapeutics. This has allowed us to investigate how spatial conformation affects trafficking, pharmacokinetics, and whole-body biodistribution, thus opening up the exploration of a range of future clinical applications.
PRESENTATION
GET TO KNOW US BETTER
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Oncogenic Signalling, CIPF Node
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Oncogenic Signalling Program
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Dynamic interaction of 231MDA-BrM2-831 GFP cancer cells with the ECM (type IV collagen fibers) in murine organotypic brain cultures.
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Time Lapse (PLO:Ppro 6:22) - Pearson r>0.6, 2h - Mitochondria (R), Lysosomes (W), Polymer (B), Mito colocalization (P) - PCT/EP2024/068352; Pegoraro et al Adv Mat 2025
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Intravital microscopy of tibial metastasis from prostate cancer. Blue: Hoechst Green: PC3-GFP cancer cell line Red: PGA-Dtx-Cy5.5 (Polymer conjugated to doxetacel)
RESEARCH STAFF
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT ALL POSSIBLE
Maria Jesus Vicent Docon
mjvicent@cipf.es
Ana Armiñan De Benito
aarminan@cipf.es
María Medel González
mmedel@cipf.es
María Herrero Herrero
mherrero@cipf.es
Inés Sáenz De Santa María Fernández
isaenzdesantamaria@cipf.es
Esther Masia Sanchis
emasia@cipf.es
Paula Carrascosa Marco
pcarrascosa@cipf.es
Alberto Pitarch Sanz
apitarch@cipf.es
Alba Micaela Salcedo Campos
asalcedo@cipf.es
Juan Julian Escribano Saiz
jescribano@cipf.es
Pablo Sánchez Cano
psanchezc@cipf.es
Stuart P Atkinson 
satkinson@cipf.es
Carolina Ganivet Ruiz
cganivet@cipf.es
Amina Benaicha Fernández
abenaicha@cipf.es
Karolina Gwizdala 
kgwizdala@cipf.es
Leire Miguela Maroto
lmiguela@cipf.es
Nerea Manzano Ramos
nmanzano@cipf.es
Carla Ortuño Moya
cortuno@cipf.es
Tanibet Alba O'reilly
talba@cipf.es
Valentina Zazza 
vzazza@cipf.es
María Caballer Sanchis
mcaballer@cipf.es
María Gómez-fabra Gala
mgfabra@cipf.es
PUBLICATIONS
OUR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Polymer-based nanomedicines: Supporting multimodal approaches to glioblastoma multiforme treatment.
ADVANCED DRUG DELIVERY REVIEWS 2026 Jan,  DOI:  10.1016/j.addr.2025.115735,  Vol. 228,  pag. 115735-115735
A rationally designed polypeptide-based hybrid platform for targeted intranasal brain drug delivery.
BIOMATERIALS 2026 May,  DOI:  10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123867,  Vol. 328,  pag. 123867-123867
Identification of functional biomarkers for personalized nanomedicine in advanced breast cancer in vitro models
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE 2025 May,  DOI:  10.1016/j.jconrel.2025.113584,  Vol. 381,  pag. 113584-113584