New approach uses 'cloaked' proteins to deliver cancer-killing therapeutics into cells

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Schematic of the bioreversible anionic cloaking strategy. Chemical modification of surface-exposed lysines with sulfonated cloaking reagents enables complexation and subsequent delivery of protein cargos with cationic lipids. Following endocytic escape, the reagents are cleaved off via the presence of a self-immolative, redox-sensitive disulfide bond to tracelessly deliver the cargo protein in the cytoplasm of a cell. Credit: ACS Central Science (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.4c00071 An interdisciplinary collaboration has designed a way to «cloak» proteins so that they can be captured by lipid nanoparticles, which are akin to tiny bubbles of fat. These bubbles are small enough to sneak their hidden cargo into living cells, where the proteins uncloak and exert their therapeutic effect. The generalizable technique could lead to repurposing thousands of commercial protein products, including antibodies, for biological research an...

Subscription vitamin company Care/of is shutting down

Care/of, a company offering personalized subscription vitamin packs, says it will be canceling all subscriptions as of Monday, June 17 and will no longer be accepting new orders.

The news doesn’t come completely out of the blue, as Care/of had previously disclosed in a New York Department of Labor filing that it planned to lay off all 143 employees by July 3 due to a “funding loss.” Now the company is being more specific and definitive about the closure, with a post yesterday on Instagram thanking customers and saying, “We unfortunately no longer have funding to operate in the way we have been.”

The post doesn’t completely close the door on a revival, claiming, “We are actively exploring options for the brand but do not have anything definitive to communicate at this time. We hope to be in a place to share more soon.”

Founded in 2016 by Craig Elbert and Akash Shah, Care/of asked customers to fill out a quiz about their lifestyle and values, which it used to recommend a personalized mix of vitamins and supplements. Its investors included Juxtapose, Goodwater Capital, Tusk Venture Partners, Bullish, and RRE Ventures.

Pharmaceutical giant Bayer acquired a majority stake in Care/of in 2020. Earlier this month, Bayer’s director of strategic communications Christin Miller told NutraIngredients that “ceasing further investment in Care/of will allow Bayer to better invest in future innovations at help people manage their personalize health.”

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