Kannan Rangaramanujam, MS, PhD

Highlights

Languages

English

Gender

Male

Johns Hopkins Affiliations:

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

About Kannan Rangaramanujam

Professional Titles

Co-Director, Center for Nanomedicine

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Ophthalmology

Background

Dr. Kannan Rangaramanujam is the Arnall Patz distinguished professor of ophthalmology, and co-director of center for nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He holds joint appointments in Physiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He is a chemical engineer by training [PhD (Caltech)]. His research interests are in the field of translational nanomedicine centered on novel approaches to target specific cells at the site of injury. His team has developed and extensively validated the hydroxyl dendrimer and glucose dendrimer platforms through Hopkins-wide collaborations in many animal models of ocular, brain disorders, pain, depression, and cancer. These have the opportunity to address long standing challenges in the field and will lead to medicines that are easy to administer (e.g., oral pills for AMD and diabetic retinopathy), have minimal side effects, and are affordable to large fractions of the world population.

He is leading the translation of his research to the clinic, through start-ups and partnerships. He is the co-founder of Ashvattha Therapeutics Inc. and Samata Therapeutics (>$150M raised) – Johns Hopkins spinoffs that are translating some of his team’s patented dendrimer technologies to the clinic, with three products that have completed, or in Phase 2 trials. Dr. Rangaramanujam is an author of >190 patents (issued and pending, licensed), more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and is supported by significant NIH and federal funding. He has won several recognitions, including fellowship of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE), Controlled Release Society, and Distinguished Alumni Award from BITS (Pilani). He is on the editorial boards of Biomaterials, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, and Theranostics.

Centers and Institutes

CV

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmer/employees/cvs/Rangaramanujam_CV.pdf

Additional Academic Titles

Professor of Physiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Contact for Research Inquiries

400 N. Broadway
Smith Building 6023
Baltimore, MD 21287

Phone: (443) 287-7921
krangar1@jhmi.edu

Research Interests

Drug delivery for ocular and neurodegenerative diseases, Nanomedicine

Research Summary

Dendrimers offer unique nanoscale attributes (e.g., surface group density) that can ‘tune’ their interactions with disease tissue and cells. Taking advantage of this, we have developed dendrimers that target reactive microglia/macrophages, ‘injured’ neuronal cells, adipocytes and more, from systemic administration, without a need for targeting ligands or antibodies. Through extensive collaboration with physicians, this has been validated in more than 55 animal models in six species, and human tissue. Building on such selective ‘disease biophysics’ uptake, we have designed dendrimer-drug conjugates which have shown significant promise in clinical trials, addressing decades-old medical challenges, including overcoming the blood-brain barrier and developing systemic treatments for retinal disorders. These results not only provide unique insights into the role of reactive microglia and neurons in disease and repair, but also offer opportunities for developing potent therapies for unmet needs, in many neurological, ocular, and cardiometabolic disorders. Recent efforts to develop new applications in antibody delivery will also be highlighted. Significant, positive outcomes have been seen in six Phase 1 and two phase 2 results. OP-101@ (dendrimer-NAC conjugate), a product developed from his group showed significant promise in Phase 2 trials for severe COVID-19, and was the only drug to address the neurological consequences of COVID-19. Migaldendranib@ (dendrimer-sunitinib analog conjugate), a subcutaneous, once-a-month, cell-targeted therapy showed remarkable results in wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy in Phase 2 trials, addressing a many-decades-old challenge. Examples of the remarkable promise of this approach in inflammatory, obesity, mental health, retinal, and brain disorders will be discussed.

PubMed - Publications

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kannan+rangaramanujam

Graduate Program Affiliations

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Biomedical Engineering

Materials Science and Engineering

Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Additional Training

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1995, Chemical Engineering

Expertise

Education

California Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1994
Pennsylvania State University, M.S., 1989
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, B.E., 1987