Is it possible to take just one pill to cure everything? The answer could be yes. In fact, human trials begin on a new pill that will replace all the pills that are taken during the week. Once ingested, the tablet gradually releases the components over a period of seven days, this is how it works. New technology that allows daily medication to be taken only once a week or even once a month could transform the lives of people with diseases ranging from schizophrenia to opioid addiction, according to the researchers.
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The method was originally developed for a new type of contraceptive pill: a capsule, initially tested on pigs, that dissolves in the stomach to release a six-armed structure that releases synthetic hormones over three weeks before breaking and exiting the body.
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The experimentation
Ready for Phase 1 trials in humans at Lyndra, the company developing the technology, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, testing is expected to begin later this year. And the technology is also being applied to a host of other drugs, including ivermectin to eradicate malaria.
Schizophrenia
A once-a-week pill containing risperidone, an antipsychotic used for people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, will then go into clinical trials this year, the company said, and should be submitted for Food and Drug approval. US Administration. (FDA) by the end of next year, with approval hoped for by the end of 2024.
The economic and health benefits
According to Trish Hurter, Lyndra’s chief executive, the economic and health benefits of reducing the frequency of certain pills are different. “Above all nIn schizophrenia, adherence to therapy is a huge driver of results»he said. «When people do not maintain expensive therapy, they risk hospitalization».
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Stop the roller coaster of dosages
Not only does a long-lasting pill reduce the chance of missing a dose, but the technology allows for the release of a constant concentration of a drug over a set period. This would end the roller coaster ride that the body undergoes when taking multiple pills throughout the day. «At the start of the day, levels of the drug in the body can be very high, potentially causing side effects, – explains Hurter – while at the end of the day they could be too low to work.“. Therefore, by taking only one pill once a week, the release of the drug is leveled out in a constant manner, avoiding changes in dosages that would put patients’ health at risk.
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For which diseases it can be used and for which not
The company also plans to launch a phase 1 trial for a once-weekly pill containing levomethadone, a drug used for opioid use disorder. Hurter said the approach could bring huge benefits as currently people requiring the drug have to go to a clinic every day for the observed dosage.
In addition, Lyndra is also developing the approach for rosuvastatin, a type of drug used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as a drug to control diabetes. But Hurter wanted to specify that the technology may not work for all drugs. For the approach to work, a one-week or one-month dose must be able to fit into the capsule, which is not possible for a drug like metformin, used to treat type 2 diabetes.
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The difficulty of technology development
And the development of this technology has been anything but simple. «Building something that can stay in your stomach and last for a week is a challenge from a material design standpoint, because your stomach does 500 to 1,000 contractions a day.»Hurter specified.
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The approvals
Professor Shôn Lewis, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Manchester, said it would be important to investigate whether the approach has the expected impact given the options already available for people with conditions such as schizophrenia, while it remains a key question whether Lyndra’s products would be approved in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. However, Lewis said weekly pills could be particularly useful in the initial treatment of sick people, allowing healthcare professionals to administer a single pill rather than having to arrange daily visits to administer the drug. «This could be a crucial step forward»he said.