Implantable Wireless Microchip Delivers Drugs At Scheduled Intervals

Microchips Biotech has developed an implantable technology that releases drugs in the body in a controlled manner. Though the technology was developed a decade ago, it is only now that it is introduced for use.

The company has now partnered with Teva Pharmaceutical to produce the initial product and put it through clinical trials.

Drug Delivery System
Drug delivery systems, is a technology using various chemicals to bind the target drugs, carry them to target organ, tissue or cell where the drug is released at a pre-determined rate.

The implantable chip has tiny reservoirs, each containing one dose of a particular medication. A metal membrane caps top of these reservoirs, which can be moved out of the way by delivering an electric current.

Depending on the applied current each reservoir can be individually activated to open up, allowing for administration at the exact times and even with multiple medications.

The company’s microchips have already gone through a successful clinical trial on patients with osteoporosis, delivering teriparatide directly without having to go through regular injections.

Drug Delivery Systems - Use in Diabetes Management
Different types of drug delivery systems for insulin delivery have been extensively researched recently. Oral route and transdermal drug delivery systems are among the advanced drug delivery systems.

The study demonstrated that the programmable implant was able to deliver the drug at scheduled intervals. Drug delivery and evaluation in patients occurred over a one month period and provided proof-of-concept measures of drug release and device durability that support implantable device viability for 12 months or more.

“A microchip that continues to deliver teriparatide with this or similar consistency and efficiency over 12 to 24 months could improve bone mass, density, architecture, and strength,” said study co-author Robert Neer, Founder & Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Bone Density Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

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A new technique that makes a more effective use of nanoparticles as a drug delivery system has been developed by a researcher at Wayne State University.

Source-Medindia

Electromagnetic Induced Drug Releasing Nanowires for Long-Term Drug Delivery
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