Yen-Ming Hsu

COO and co-founder
Nanocarry Therapeutics

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Oshra is the co-founder and COO of Nanocarry Therapeutics. She is the co-inventor and a leading scientist behind Nanocarry’s brain delivery platform. Her academic work and research focus on targeted nano-systems and strategies for enhanced drug delivery into the brain. During her academic career, Oshra has authored more than 20 papers and received several prestigious awards. With 10 years of experience in the high-tech industry, she held managerial positions at Checkpoint Software and Vodafone. Oshra holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, an MSc in Neuroscience, a BSc in Computer Sciences, as well as an additional BSc in Speech Therapy and Audiology.
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Speech title & Synopsis

Crossing the Uncrossable: Axs Nano-platform Unlocking Antibody Therapies for Brain Diseases

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) has long posed a critical obstacle, preventing many therapeutic antibodies from reaching the brain and leaving numerous neurological diseases without effective treatment options. The AxS nano-platform is an innovative technology designed to overcome this challenge.
 
AxS utilizes engineered nanoparticles capable of safely and efficiently transporting antibodies across the BBB—an achievement previously thought impossible—by leveraging receptor-mediated transcytosis and employing insulin as a shuttle molecule.
 
The platform’s pioneering product, AxS007, was developed for the treatment of brain metastases from breast cancer (BCBM), an otherwise untreatable condition. Although approved antibodies successfully treat peripheral breast cancer, they are unable to cross the BBB once the disease metastasizes to the brain—a scenario that occurs in 50% of cases and leads to a dismal one-year survival rate. Preclinical data for AxS007 demonstrate successful delivery of therapeutic antibodies to deep brain regions and significant biological activity, offering the potential for a revolutionary treatment option for patients with BCBM.
 
Beyond AxS007, the AxS platform is versatile and cross-disciplinary, adaptable to multiple antibody types and diverse indications. It offers broad opportunities for therapeutic development and underscores the potential to address various CNS disorders—including neurodegenerative diseases, rare brain conditions, and brain cancers—that currently lack viable therapies. Through AxS, what was once considered “uncrossable” is now within reach.