Vascular research has built evidence for over 50 years that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is caused by inflammation, however, only in the last 5 years has vascular medicine demonstrated a direct therapeutic link between inflammation-targeting drugs (immunotherapy) and better cardiovascular outcomes. Unfortunately, systemic delivery of immunotherapies also compromises normal immune function and to date, only a single immunotherapy drug can be used for CVD. Immunotherapy drugs that can resolve inflammation without suppressing beneficial components of immune function would offer the most benefit. Combining these drugs with devices that can control delivery only to sites of disease that require treatment may further increase their effectiveness and safety. This proposal aims to create the next generation of approaches and devices to locally deliver immunotherapies to revolutionize the treatment of CVD.
Last updated17 January 2023