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Capsule for Long-Term Drug Delivery Could Help Eliminate Malaria

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a new drug capsule that remains in the stomach for up to two weeks after being swallowed, gradually releasing its drug payload. This type of drug delivery could replace inconvenient regimens that require repeated doses, which would help to overcome one of the major obstacles to treating and potentially eliminating diseases such as malaria. "Until now, oral drugs would almost never last for more than a day," says MIT professor Robert Langer. "This really opens the door to ultra-long-lasting oral systems, which could have an effect on all kinds of diseases, such as Alzheimer's or mental health disorders." The team designed a star-shaped structure with six arms that can be folded inward and encased in a smooth capsule. Drug molecules are loaded into the arms, which are made of a rigid polymer called polycaprolactone. Each arm is attached to a rubber-like core by a linker that is designed to eventually break down.

Topics:
Drug Delivery Materials Medical

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    Transcript

    00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING] One of the current problems with many drugs that are taken orally is they only work for a limited time because they are broken down and passed quickly through the body. Another problem is simply getting patients to take the medicine day after day. In some cases, regimens require repeated doses in order for the drug to be effective.

    00:00:23 So the biggest issue with taking medication is that folks just don't take their medication. And in fact, only about 50% of folks actually take their medication as prescribed. And I think really, at the heart of the matter, is that it's tough sometimes to remember to take that medication. So really, one of the things that we set out to do was to make it easier. Having a way to safely and gradually release

    00:00:44 drugs in the human body over an extended period of time could have a profound effect on eliminating certain diseases, such as malaria. In an attempt to combat the obstacles involved in effective long-term drug delivery, a team of researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital has developed a new drug capsule that remains in the stomach for up to two weeks after being swallowed, gradually releasing its contents over time.

    00:01:06 So the dosage form that we developed looks like a star. And I think it's important to appreciate the different elements of the star. And so we have arms, and then we have a central elastic portion. The arms are rigid, and they are the ones that are loaded with drug. And the central portion is elastic and enables, essentially, the folding of that star into a capsule. Once swallowed, acid in the stomach dissolves the outer layer of the capsule,

    00:01:34 allowing the star's six arms to unfold. Once fully expanded, the star, due to its shape, size, and material properties, is able to resist forces that would normally push an object further down the digestive tract, without causing any harmful blockages in the stomach or intestines. You know, the GI tract is an interesting organ in that it's really a long tube that has a couple of segments that are a little bit dilated or bigger.

    00:01:57 Specifically, the stomach is a bigger segment. So there's actually an incredible opportunity to house, in the GI tract, a depot or a storage of the full dose of treatment, for example. And as long as we're able to control the release of that treatment of that drug, we may have the capacity to essentially deliver the full course of treatment, and then, by some engineering, have that drug be delivered over the course of days, weeks, or potentially even over months.

    00:02:25 The researchers say this device is more of a platform into which you can incorporate any drug that requires frequent dosing. They are now working on developing similar capsules to deliver drugs against other tropical diseases, as well as HIV and neuropsychiatric conditions.