(Disruption Interruption: Tampa Bay, FL) -- Bringing a new drug from discovery to market is a grueling marathon that typically requires 10-15 years of research, testing, and regulatory approval. According to recent data, clinical development times for innovative drugs have remained stagnant during the last decade, with a median duration of around 8 years.

Jurek Kozyra, founder and CEO of Nanovery, sat down with host Karla Jo Helms on the latest episode of the Disruption Interruption podcast to explain how he is dismantling these barriers. Kozyra discussed how the convergence of DNA nanotechnology and AI is creating a new era of “oligo therapeutics” capable of targeting the underlying mechanisms of disease.

“If you can target mRNA very specifically, that means that in theory, you could potentially cure all diseases,” says Kozyra. “That’s why this area is so exciting right now.”

The stagnation of traditional medicine

For centuries, medicine has operated on a “lock and key” model, hunting for molecules that can fix defective proteins. However, this approach leaves many diseases untreated simply because scientists can’t find the right molecule to fit the target. Furthermore, the diagnostic process remains dangerously slow; traditional lab tests can take up to two days to return results—a delay that can be fatal in emergency situations like drug overdoses.

Pharmaceutical companies are also racing against the clock. “Pharma companies are racing against 20-year patents while drugs take over 10 years to develop,” says Kozyra. “A lot of diseases can’t be cured because we can’t find the right molecule that will fix the protein. But the promise here is that you can actually cure potentially all diseases because all proteins come from mRNA.”

This inefficiency results in billions of dollars in costs and a 90% failure rate for new drugs, limiting patient access to lifesaving innovations.

Nanorobots: The future of rapid detection

Kozyra’s solution lies in DNA nanorobots—self-assembling machines that can detect diseases in blood samples within 2–4 hours, a fraction of the time required by traditional methods. Unlike the metallic robots of science fiction, these biological machines are designed to produce fluorescent signals when they encounter specific DNA or RNA molecules, enabling rapid, accurate point-of-care diagnostics.

“We are creating nanorobots that self-assemble into structures or dynamic devices,” Kozyra says. “You simply add them to the sample, let them find the right markers, and they start producing a signal. If you can detect it, you know exactly what is in your sample.”

The technology has already proven its worth in a hospital study involving 170 patient samples. “In a clinical setting, our technology delivered the same or better results than traditional tests in just two hours instead of two days,” Kozyra says. “This is a game changer for emergency situations where immediate answers are critical.”