Featured Post from ChristianaCare

ChristianaCare expands Health Literacy Partnership through Support from Highmark Health

Aug 8, 2023

2 min

ChristianaCare has received an $80,000 grant from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Delaware to support the Health Literacy Council of Delaware.


Funded through Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community grant program, the money will be used to fund education and awareness for clinicians and other caregivers on best practices in making health care information much easier for patients to understand.



“Health literacy is essential to good health,” said Greg O’Neill, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, director of Patient & Family Health Education at ChristianaCare. “Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals are able to find, understand and use information and services to inform their health-related decisions and actions. At ChristianaCare we are committed to communicating with our patients in ways that enable them to understand so that they can make informed decisions and achieve their best health.


“We are deeply grateful that Highmark Health Options shares our commitment to health literacy. Their generous grant will enable us to support our caregivers in their efforts to deliver clear, consistent communication to every patient in every interaction, improving their lives.”


In addition to work within health care in Delaware through the Health Literacy Council, the grant also will be used by ChristianaCare to provide education in the community to support increased health literacy and enable people to make informed, healthy choices.


Housed by the Delaware Community Foundation, Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community has contributed over $35 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to increase access to care and reduce health care disparities in Delaware.


In addition to ChristianaCare, the Health Literacy Council of Delaware is supported by the Delaware Division of Public Health and the University of Delaware’s Partnership for Healthy Communities.


“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware and Highmark Health Options are actively engaged with statewide literacy improvement efforts and are pleased to support the Health Literacy Council of Delaware,” said Nick Moriello, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. “By ensuring Delawareans have the tools and resources they need to understand their health information, while simultaneously making inclusive accommodations as health care organizations, we can promote better health decisions and ultimately improve health outcomes.”

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4 min

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A team of researchers from ChristianaCare and the University of Delaware has uncovered a key early step in how colorectal cancer begins. Their new study shows that a common genetic mutation in colorectal cancer disrupts the colon’s normal tissue renewal process, causing immature cells to build up, tissue structure to break down and early tumors to form. Their findings were published in the journal Cancers. “This finding changes how we think about the very first steps of colon cancer,” said Bruce Boman, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and a senior researcher at the Cawley Center for Translational Cancer Research at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “Instead of cancer starting because cells grow too fast, we found that it may start because the normal tissue renewal process slows down, creating a backup of cells that should have moved on. 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3 min

CorriXR Launches Bold Collaboration to Create First Inhaled CRISPR Therapy for Lung Cancer

CorriXR Therapeutics, ChristianaCare’s first commercial biotherapeutics spinout, has launched a major collaboration with InhaTarget Therapeutics and Merxin Ltd to develop an inhaled genetic therapy for lung cancer. The goal is to deliver a CRISPR-based treatment straight to tumors in the lungs to improve effectiveness and cut harmful side effects. A New Way to Treat Lung Cancer Lung cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Squamous cell lung carcinoma, an aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer, accounts for up to 30% of cases. More than 380,000 people are diagnosed each year, yet the five-year survival rate stays under 15%. Standard chemotherapy and immunotherapy often become less effective, and many patients develop resistance that leaves them with few options and rising toxicity. CorriXR is taking aim at this problem. Its CRISPR gene editing system targets NRF2, a key driver of treatment resistance. By switching off NRF2, the therapy has the potential to make tumors sensitive to chemotherapy again and give patients a chance at better outcomes. As reported in a recent paper in Molecular Therapy Oncology, researchers at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute showed in preclinical lung cancer models that disabling NRF2 can resensitize tumors to chemotherapy with minimal off-target effects. “This partnership is about more than science. It’s about hope for patients,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., founder and CEO of CorriXR Therapeutics and chief scientific officer at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. “Lung cancer patients deserve therapies that work and improve quality of life. By combining our CRISPR-based technology with inhaled delivery, we can target tumors directly and reduce systemic toxicity. Our goal is to make treatment simpler, more effective and less invasive.” How the Inhaled Delivery System Works The treatment will be given through inhalation using InhaTarget’s lipid nanoparticle formulation delivered by Merxin Ltd’s advanced inhaler platform. The goal is a non-invasive therapy that patients could use at home. “Combining our pulmonary drug delivery LNP platform with CorriXR’s groundbreaking science and Merxin Ltd’s device technology has the potential to reshape the landscape of lung cancer treatment. We are eager to advance work on this novel combination,” said Frédéric De Coninck, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of InhaTarget Therapeutics. Merxin Ltd’s technology is central to the approach. Its inhalers are built to deliver precise, consistent doses straight to the lungs. For this collaboration, Merxin Ltd is adapting its device to handle lipid nanoparticle formulations for the first time in a cancer treatment. “Our advanced inhaler technology is designed to ensure non-invasive, precise, consistent delivery of novel therapeutics,” said Philippe Rogueda, Ph.D., co-founder and chief business officer of Merxin Ltd. “We are excited to contribute to this vital effort and help bring innovative solutions to patients with lung cancer.” Why This Matters Patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma often face a fast-moving disease and few treatment choices. A therapy that can reach tumors directly, reduce toxicity and avoid resistance would mark a major shift. “This collaboration underscores the power of combining innovative science with practical delivery solutions,” said Kmiec. “Our CRISPR-based approach is designed to overcome one of the toughest challenges in oncology: treatment resistance. By partnering with experts in inhalation technology, we are moving closer to a therapy that is not only effective but accessible.” Studies will begin soon, with a substantial set of results on effectiveness and impact expected by spring 2026.

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