Dive Brief:
- The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which is part of the Kennedy Center, is giving $1.25 million to scientists and the Houston Methodist Research Institute to develop an implantable device that delivers drugs at a rate guided by remote control.
- The project is currently underway. The nanochannel delivery device, or nDS, delivers drugs at any set rate. The device is an 18 mm small cylinder.
- The device will be tested on Earth and also in space aboard the International Space Station.
Dive Insight:
The nanochannel drug delivery system has already been extensively tested in proof-of-concept studies. Successful development of the nDS would be a step forward for personalized medicine, providing doctors with numerous useful applications.
Controlling the rate of drug delivery will help control drug regimens that have to be dictated by various chronobiological factors. It also would allow doctors to start or stop therapy, and this novel development's implications for adherence would be huge. Next up: In vitro validation and in vivo testing.