Research Triangle Park, NC, -- October 07, 2005---The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill one of seven centers of cancer nanotechnology research. These centers are an integral part of a $144.3 million, five-year initiative to develop and apply nanotechnology for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) will focus on the application of PRINT TM nanoparticles and nanodevices for cancer therapy and imaging. The CCNE will be headed by principal investigator Professor Rudolph Juliano and co-principal investigator Professor Joseph DeSimone.

PRINT TM particle technology results in unprecedented control over shape, size, and composition of material when manufacturing nanoparticles, resulting in drug delivery systems previously unattainable. The nanodevice technology includes the development of microfluidic chips from an innovative fluoropolymer technology. These chips have a unique combination of high performance features around precision molding, chemical resistance, gas permeability, and more.

"We are thrilled at the endorsement of these technologies by the NCI as a promising new era in cancer research. We believe both technologies have the potential to radically change human health care." says Professor DeSimone, National Academy of Engineering member and co-founder of Liquidia Technologies. Liquidia is a licensee of PRINT TM particles and microfluidic technologies from the university.

The new Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence will be closely associated with UNC facilities including the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mouse Model of Human Cancer Consortium, the Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and Technology, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The newly formed Center will also partner with not-for-profit organizations and private sector firms, with the specific intent of advancing the technologies being developed.

"NCI has supported the application of nanotechnology to cancer through a variety of programs and interactions with the scientific community for more than seven years, and we're very gratified that our activities are helping to advance a pipeline of new product opportunities," noted NCI Deputy Director Anna Barker, Ph.D. in the NCI press release. "Central to this initiative will be multidisciplinary partnerships involving physicists, biologists, clinicians, engineers, and other experts that can translate knowledge on cancer and nanotechnology into clinically useful products."

For more information about the NCI Alliance on Nanotechnology in Cancer, please visit nano.cancer.gov .

About Liquidia Technologies:
Located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Liquidia Technologies develops and markets innovative fluoropolymer materials for high-value industrial applications in the electronics, life science, and chemical industries. Liquidia Technologies offers solutions in microfluidics and imprint lithography applications due to the beneficial qualities of its innovative material platform including solvent resistance, low surface energy, and elastomeric properties. Liquidia Technologies also brings precision, uniformity, and mass production techniques associated with the engineering of devices found in the microelectronics industry to the nanomedicine field for the fabrication and delivery of therapeutic, detection, and imaging agents for the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.

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