MIT spinout Microchips Biotech and Teva are developing a long-term drug delivery chip implant.
The microchip array can be implanted in the body and programmed to release controlled doses of drugs over months or years. Dosage or frequency can be changed wirelessly from an app. The company claims that the device can deliver medications for 16 years.
It is a self-contained hermetically-sealed device, implanted and removed in a doctor’s office. The chip can store hundreds of therapeutic doses, and releases each at precise times. The implant has been clinically validated in human studies delivering parathyroid hormone in osteoporosis patients.
This could represent a painless replacement to daily injections, or simply improve patient compliance.