Professor Simon Benita

The Genomeweb article Aurum Ventures Funds Development of Yissum Delivery Tech for Controlled-Release Oral Rxs said

Yissum, the technology-transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Aurum Ventures plan to co-develop and commercialize a controlled-release drug-delivery platform for oral administration, Yissum said this week.
 
Simon Benita, a professor at the Hebrew University’s School of Pharmacy, developed the delivery technology at the center of the deal to increase the bioavailability of lipophilic drugs, which are poorly soluble in water and thus have limited bioavailability and clinical efficacy.
 
In addition, Yissum said, when administered orally around a quarter of all lipophilic drugs cannot be absorbed by the body because they activate an intestinal pump barrier and are metabolized in the intestines and liver.
 
Benita’s drug-delivery system, which is based on proprietary nanotechnology, is designed to enable oral formulations to bypass intestinal and liver metabolic filters, thereby increasing their bioavailability, Yissum said.

Simon Benita, Ph.D. is Professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he received his Ph.D. in Pharmacy in 1980. He has also served as an Invited Professor at the University of Paris-Sud and at the University of Angers-France.
 
Simon’s research is focused on polymeric nano- and microparticulate and lipid-based drug delivery systems aimed at improving oral and ocular bioavailability and the strategy of covalently linking monoclonal antibodies to colloidal carriers for drug targeting.
 
He has published 130 research articles and 17 chapters, edited 3 books and been issued 15 patents. He has served as a member of the Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the International Pharmacy Federation and the Controlled Release Society and Governor of The International Microencapsulation Society. He is currently a member of the Editorial Boards of Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, Journal of Microencapsulation, S.T.P. Pharma Sciences, European Journal of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics, and AAPS PharmSciTech.
 
Simon edited Microencapsulation: Methods and Industrial Applications, Second Edition (Drugs and the Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Submicron Emulsions in Drug Targeting and Delivery, and coedited Emulsions and Nanosuspensions for the Formulation of Poorly Soluble Drugs. His patents include Oil-in-water emulsions of positively charged particles, Medicinal emulsions, Method and composition for dry eye treatment, Preparation of biodegradable microcapsules based on serum albumin, and NMDA-blocking pharmaceutical compositions.
 
Simon was recipient of The Hebrew University Kaye Innovation Award in 2000 and again in 2005. He is an American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Fellow. Novagali, a company founded by Simon, was chosen to receive an achievement award in 2004 for its contributions to successful economic exchanges between France and Israel.