BIND Therapeutics

About

BIND Therapeutics, founded in 2007 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, pioneered the Accurin platform of polymeric nanoparticles for targeted cancer drug delivery, representing one of the most advanced clinical applications of nanomedicine. With over $150 million in funding and 100-200 employees, BIND developed sophisticated nanotechnology designed to precisely deliver chemotherapy agents to tumor cells while minimizing systemic toxicity. The company emerged from groundbreaking research at MIT and Harvard on controlled drug delivery using biodegradable polymer nanoparticles. BIND's Accurin nanoparticles were engineered with extraordinary precision, incorporating multiple functional components: a biodegradable polymer core loaded with chemotherapy drugs, a protective hydrophilic polymer shell to evade immune system clearance, and targeting ligands that bind to specific molecules overexpressed on cancer cells. This multicomponent design addressed fundamental challenges in cancer treatment—delivering sufficient drug to tumors while avoiding damage to healthy tissues. The company's lead candidate, BIND-014, consisted of docetaxel chemotherapy encapsulated in nanoparticles displaying PSMA-targeting ligands, designed for prostate cancer treatment. BIND advanced multiple nanoparticle candidates through clinical trials, generating valuable data on nanomedicine performance in humans. The company's clinical programs demonstrated that carefully designed nanoparticles could alter drug biodistribution, enhance tumor accumulation, and potentially improve therapeutic indices. BIND employed sophisticated polymer chemistry and formulation sciences to create nanoparticles with controlled sizes (typically 50-100 nanometers), precise drug loading, and sustained release profiles. The company developed scalable manufacturing processes meeting pharmaceutical GMP standards—a significant achievement given the complexity of multi-functional nanoparticles. Throughout its existence, BIND contributed substantially to understanding how nanoparticle properties including size, surface chemistry, and targeting ligands influence biological fate and therapeutic efficacy. Despite promising preclinical data and successful clinical trial execution, BIND faced challenges common to nanomedicine development including complex regulatory pathways, high development costs, and difficulty demonstrating sufficient therapeutic advantages over existing treatments. In 2016, facing financial pressures, BIND was acquired by Pfizer, which subsequently discontinued the programs, highlighting the challenging economics of nanomedicine development. Nevertheless, BIND's legacy includes important contributions to nanomedicine science, demonstration that sophisticated nanoparticles can be manufactured at pharmaceutical scales, and clinical data advancing understanding of nanoparticle behavior in humans. The company's experience provides valuable lessons for the nanomedicine field regarding the gap between preclinical promise and clinical reality, the importance of selecting appropriate patient populations, and the need for compelling therapeutic differentiation to justify nanomedicine's inherent complexity.