Everyone is inquisitive. Some people are more than others. They are not pleased until a cogent answer is given. They must know exactly how and why. Curiosity is one of the greatest strengths of scientists. All the best scientists in the world possess this curiosity for the world around them. They never accept what appears to be obvious; they always look deeper into problems. That curiosity provides them opportunities that they wouldn’t have if they just accepted the results and never asked: “why?”.

Being a co-founder of multiple biotech companies, Prof. Satya Prakash has tried his hands in almost everything in the field of biotech, from pro-biotics to gene therapy. Prof. Prakash works at the Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McGill. He is well-known for his international research program in the areas of the microbiome, probiotics, artificial cells, biomaterials, cell therapy, targeted delivery of live cells/drugs and other therapeutic molecules health-related technology development.

With several innovative products under his belt, Prof. Prakash has more than 225 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, with 68 approved/pending patent applications. He has gone on to scale up the successful lab projects into established companies. Having created successful biotechnology companies based on innovations born in the academic lab, Prof. Prakash here discusses his journey.

Yasamin: Could you tell us about your journey in establishing your company MangoGen?

Prof. Prakash: I completed my bachelor in chemistry, master’s in biochemistry and another master’s in biochemical engineering in India. I then got a scholarship to study abroad at a university of my choice. I chose McGill for my PhD and continued on as a postdoc before going on to start my tenure-track here as an assistant professor.

It was back in 2001 that I started my first company, Micropharma. At that time, the Quebec bioengineering industry was on the decline, yet we were able to raise 35 million dollars from France and ended up establishing a very successful company. At Micropharma we developed probiotics that are now being used globally.

Micropharma was founded in McGill. We carried out the clinical studies in Europe and Canada. The technology was then commercialized and is now sold globally. The key product of Micropharma is cardioviva, a natural probiotic that is used for lowering cholesterol. Micropharma is the only probiotics company in the world that is still authorized by the health authorities. In other words, Health Canada confirms that if you eat our probiotic product you can lower your cholesterol. In doing this, we have managed to scale up from the bench to the industry level.

I then started working on my other company, MangoGen, which you mentioned. It is about developing cardiac stents, the next generation of stents. Currently, the metallic stents are used to intervene in cardiac conditions, chronic disease in particular. We developed a stent that has a coating of insect virus that can promote vascular re-endothelialization of the injured artery. These stents were then tested on different animals (dogs, pigs, and rodents) to see the efficacy of that particular stent. We then filed a patent that has been approved in Australia, U.S., China, Europe and some other countries. We also developed a partnership with a group in China, called GP HealthCare. They put US$ 1.67 million to produce these stents. These next-generation stents will now be further tested on humans. So, those are the two companies that I started here in Quebec.

Yasmin: I read with great interest one of your recent articles about a drug delivery system with carbon nanotubes to fight breast cancer. How did you come up with that idea of conjugating human serum albumin (HAS) to carbon nanotube for the breast cancer drug delivery? And what got you interested?

Prof. Prakash: We were always interested in delivering drugs using artificial cells and other methods. When carbon nanotubes were discovered, I met Sumio Iijima, the person who discovered this and got the Nobel Prize. We discussed how we can use carbon nanotubes for drug delivery. The main feature of carbon nanotubes is their size, and smaller size means larger surface area. We had this idea of using carbon nanotubes in drug delivery and it was then that the first report was published—before this, nobody had applied carbon nanotubes in drug delivery! Subsequently, we asked ourselves how to make these biocompatible. More usable? And then came the idea to use albumin. That is how we combine all these things to become successful in developing a technology to deliver drugs for breast cancer or any other type of cancer.

Yasamin: Are there any challenges you encountered during the experiments and tests?

Prof. Prakash: Many challenges. Challenges start from day one when you start thinking of developing a company or starting an innovation. Therefore, the first challenge is to make sure what you are thinking is right. Is it patentable? Is it going to be the next-generation of something that somebody can buy and sell? So, there are a lot of challenges, materials challenge, innovation challenge, and the challenge to be able to see whether you really are the one who is bringing something new or somebody else has already done it. If somebody has already done it then where can you take it? Hence, it is a challenging thing and consumes a lot of time. Progress can be slow but, in the end, it can also be rewarding.

Yasamin: Talking a bit more about technical stuff, could you please explain, how is the drug released from the Human Albumin  Serum (HAS) when it reaches the target cell and how is the rest of the complex removed from the cells after drug release?

Prof. Prakash: The complex is not removed. Some complexes stay intact. Particularly, if you have materials like nanotubes. However, the goal is to kill the cells. Your material is penetrated into the cells and kills it.

Yasamin: Does the method you suggested here work on the attachment of other drugs or other nanoparticles? What are some examples and applications?

Prof. Prakash: Yes, this is the beauty of carbon nanotubes. There are different methods for attaching different groups to the carbon nanotubes. In other words, you can make a leaf that can bind together so drug delivery becomes easier. Nanotubes can serve as a platform to deliver different groups of drugs.

Yasamin: Was there any support available along the way, in particular from the scientific community here in Quebec?

Prof. Prakash: The scientific community in Quebec has been very supportive. It supports the research and commercialization. Moreover, in Quebec, we have a lot of programs where you can apply for grants. You can generate enough data and then you can develop a company. We had a lot of backing from the industry as well. It is a good place to live for someone passionate about science. The best part in Quebec is that it has young talented people and many pharmaceutical companies. The worst part is that there is not enough funding like in the U.S. so that people can start something at very early stages. We always have trouble with the funding stages.

Yasamin: Finally, how do you see the contribution of your research to the broader research community?

Prof. Prakash: Well, what we were developing everybody is using. Once we develop something, we file a patent. We’ve filed almost 75 patents! So, what we do is that once our invention is protected because it is McGill Property, we publish it. We published many papers, all the methods, all the results that we get we publish. In my group, more than 350 research papers, articles, and abstracts have been published. So, per year between 20-22 research articles and 20 or more abstracts. We never keep anything for ourselves; we publish it so people can benefit from it.

Yasamin: Thanks a lot for your time, any last words?

Prof. Prakash: Thank you. This looks so exciting in what you call it a forum to know more about biomedical engineering in Quebec, emerging technologies and whatever we are doing and trying to bring to the public; so, this is a good course. Please pass my regards and congratulations to your professor.

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Reference: Shao, W., Paul, A., Rodes, L., & Prakash, S. (2015). A new carbon nanotube-based breast cancer drug delivery system: Preparation and in vitro analysis using paclitaxel. Cell biochemistry and biophysics, 71(3), 1405-1414.