Thus, it is frequently used as macromolecular carrier for low molecular weight drugs (especially anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents) to enhance therapeutic efficacy and limit side effects.

[2] Poly(HPMA)-drug conjugate preferably accumulates in tumor tissues via the passive-targeting process (or so-called EPR effect).

Due to its favorable characteristics, HPMA polymers and copolymers are also commonly used to produce synthetic biocompatible medical materials such as hydrogels.

The development of pHPMA as anti-cancer drug delivery vehicles is initiated by Dr. Jindřich Kopeček and colleagues at the Czech (-oslovak) Academy of Sciences in Prague in the mid-1970s.

The Kopeček Laboratory designed and developed HPMA copolymer-drug conjugates as a lysosomal delivery vehicle to cancer cells.