(60b) Multi-Reservoir Drug Therapies…From Academic Lab to Startup Company to Clinical Demonstration

As pharmaceutical drugs become more potent, targeted, and complex, the importance of systems designed to maintain drug stability and precisely control the delivery of those drugs to the body increases. Therefore, a real need exists for novel materials and devices that can: (1) store one or more drugs, (2) protect them from the body until they are needed, and (3) controllably release the drugs at the desired time. Advances in microfabrication and hermetic sealing technologies have enabled the creation of multi-reservoir drug delivery systems that address these needs. Precise control over the release of drug from each reservoir is enabled by novel formulation techniques, the application of outside energy sources such as lasers, and/or the integration of pre-programmed microprocessors, wireless telemetry, or biosensors.

Startup companies have proven to be an effective way to quickly translate scientific and technological discoveries from academic labs into new medical products that benefit patients. This talk will include a discussion of: (1) the development and first clinical demonstration of an implantable, wireless, multi-reservoir drug therapy for osteoporosis, and (2) the various issues impacting the successful translation of academic science to the clinic.