NEWS
MIT INSULIN PILL
A capsule that releases insulin in the
stomach could replace injecting or
infusing for patients with Type 1 diabetes.
An MIT-led research team has developed
a drug capsule that could be used to
deliver oral doses of insulin. About the
size of a blueberry, the capsule contains
a small needle made of compressed
insulin, which is injected after the capsule
reaches the stomach. In tests in animals,
the researchers showed that they could
deliver enough insulin to lower blood
sugar to levels comparable to those
produced by injections given through
skin. They also demonstrated that the
device can be adapted to deliver other
protein drugs.
"We are really hopeful that this new
type of capsule could someday help
diabetic patients and perhaps anyone
who requires therapies that can now only
be given by injection or infusion," says
Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute
Professor, a member of MIT's Koch
Institute for Integrative Cancer Research,
and one of the senior authors of the study.
Several years ago, researchers at
MIT developed a pill coated with many
tiny needles that could be used to inject
drugs into the lining of the stomach or the
small intestine. For the new capsule, the
researchers changed the design to have
just one needle, allowing them to avoid
injecting drugs into the interior of the
stomach, where they would be broken
down by stomach acids before having
any effect. The tip of the needle is made
of nearly 100% compressed, freeze-dried
insulin, using the same process used to
form tablets of medicine. The shaft of the
needle, which does not enter the stomach
wall, is made from another biodegradable
material. Within the capsule, the needle
is attached to a compressed spring that
is held in place by a disk made of sugar.
When the capsule is swallowed, water
in the stomach dissolves the sugar disk,
releasing the spring and injecting the
needle into the stomach wall.
The stomach wall has no pain
receptors, so the researchers believe
that patients would not be able to feel
the injection. To ensure that the drug
is injected into the stomach wall, the
researchers designed their system so that
no matter how the capsule lands in the
stomach, it can orient itself so the needle
is in contact with the lining of the stomach.
Once the tip of the needle is injected into
the stomach wall, the insulin dissolves
at a rate that can be controlled by the
researchers as the capsule is prepared.
In this study, it took about an hour for all
of the insulin to be fully released into the
bloodstream. After the capsule releases
its contents, it can pass harmlessly
through the digestive system.
The MIT team is now continuing
to work with Novo Nordisk to further
develop the technology and optimize
the manufacturing process for the
capsules. The research was funded by
Novo Nordisk, the National Institutes of
Health, a National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship, Brigham
and Women's Hospital, a Viking Olaf
Bjork Research Scholarship, and the MIT
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program.
www..mit.edu/oral-insulin-pill
A schematic drawing of a microneedle
pill with hollow needles. Image: Christine
Daniloff/MIT, based on images by Carol
Schoellhammer and Giovanni Traverso.
INPUT is a charity with a mission to improve access to
diabetes tech such as insulin pumps, flash and continuous
glucose monitoring, as well as to structured education.
www.inputdiabetes.org.uk