Leopard tortoise-inspired insulin pill may help replace injections

By PharmaCompass

2019-02-14

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An MIT-led research team has worked on an insulin pill that could save millions of diabetic patients across the world the pain and trouble of taking injections each day.

The capsule, also known as the ‘needle pill’, is inspired by leopard tortoise found in Africa. The leopard tortoise has a steep, domed shell that allows it to right itself if it rolls onto its back. The capsule, which is about the size of a blueberry, contains a small needle made of compressed insulin, which is injected into the stomach wall after the capsule has been swallowed.

The needle is attached to a compressed spring that is restrained by a disk made from sugar. The domed shape of the pill ensures that the needle is continually reoriented towards the stomach wall. Water in the stomach dissolves the disk, releasing the spring and injecting the needle into the stomach wall.

The stomach wall does not have pain receptors, so it is unlikely that this would cause any discomfort. The insulin needle takes about an hour to dissolve into the bloodstream.

When tested on animals, the drug was shown to deliver enough insulin to lower blood sugar to levels comparable to those produced by injections given through the skin. They also demonstrated that the device can be adapted to deliver other protein drugs.

Giovanni Traverso, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School-affiliated Brigham and Women’s hospital and a co-author of the study, said: “Our motivation is to make it easier for patients to take medication, particularly medications that require an injection. The classic one is insulin, but there are many others.”

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