Polymer conjugated protein micelles

A pharmaceutical composition containing:

• a stable micelle comprising:
• (i) an amphiphilic copolymer containing zein covalently conjugated to PEG and
• (ii) one or more cargo molecules, wherein the one or more cargo molecules are selected from the group consisting of a buffer, paclitaxel, docetaxal, doxorubicin, a vitamin D, irinotecan, melphalan, and tolnaftate.

A method of treating a disease comprising administering an effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition containing:

• a stable micelle comprising:
• (i) an amphiphilic copolymer containing zein covalently conjugated to PEG and
• (ii) one or more cargo molecules, wherein the one or more cargo molecules are selected from the group consisting of a buffer, paclitaxel, docetaxal, doxorubicin, melphalan, a vitamin D, and irinotecan, and optionally one or more additional therapeutic agents.

A sealed container comprising a pharmaceutical composition for injection comprising paclitaxel and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier comprises an amphiphilic copolymer containing zein covalently conjugated to PEG, wherein said carrier and paclitaxel in the composition are formulated as micelles, wherein the micelles have a particle size of between about 10 nm to about 300 nm, and wherein the composition contains a micelle to paclitaxel ratio between about 10:1 to about 100:1.