Marilena Bohley Steiger, research group leader in the Drug Formulation and Delivery Laboratory (Leroux Group) at ETH Zurich, has been awarded the Galenus Technology Prize 2025 for her research on enzyme-mediated absorption enhancement for non-invasive drug delivery.
The ability to administer complex drugs - such as proteins, peptides, DNA, or RNA - without injection is a major goal in pharmaceutical research. Oral and transmucosal routes offer attractive alternatives, but their effectiveness is often limited by mucosal and epithelial barriers.
Marilena Bohley Steiger and her colleagues have developed and successfully validated a novel enzymatic strategy to overcome these barriers. To achieve this, the team tested two natural enzymes - a mucinase and a phospholipase - both in vitro and in vivo. Desmopressin and semaglutide served as model peptide drugs, as their low oral bioavailability makes them ideal candidates for absorption-enhancing strategies.
This approach provided robust evidence that enzymes can significantly improve drug uptake via non-invasive oral and buccal administration, resulting in a marked increase in the bioavailability of desmopressin and semaglutide compared to their respective commercial oral formulations.
In recognition of this achievement, Marilena Bohley Steiger has received the Galenus Technology Prize, awarded annually by the Galenus Foundation in Vienna for outstanding contributions in pharmaceutical technology and biopharmacy.
"As a researcher with a background in pharmacy, I'm driven by the desire to develop therapies that make a real difference in people's lives," Steiger explains. "Winning the Galenus Technology Prize is a great honor and a strong motivation to continue exploring unconventional ideas and new directions in pharmaceutical science. What began as a proof of concept for non-invasive peptide delivery has since evolved into a broader research program. My group is now working to extend this approach to additional routes of administration and a wider range of therapeutics - including pulmonary delivery of nanomedicines."
The Galenus Foundation supports postdocs, assistant professors, and other early-career researchers in the fields of pharmaceutical technology and biopharmacy.
