Scientists have developed a new skin patch that could provide a more convenient and less painful way to administer antibody-based drugs to people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disorders.
“It has been developed [skin] The patch is minimally invasive, self-administerable, and designed to be fully implanted in the skin in a short period of time,” the researchers wrote.Single-dose long-acting microarray patch with ultra-high loading capacity and multiple release of thermostable antibodieswas published in molecular pharmacy.
Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight off infectious invaders. They are able to stick to specific molecular targets with great specificity and help coordinate the immune response. These properties have made it useful as a platform for developing therapeutics.
Several approved treatments for MS contain antibodies as key ingredients, and antibody-based therapies are widely used to manage other autoimmune disorders and diseases, from cancer to viral infections. It has been.
For antibody therapy to be effective, the body usually needs to have significant amounts of antibodies. This often means that patients must receive injections or infusions on a regular basis, which can be burdensome and painful.
A transdermal microneedle array (MA) patch is a drug delivery system applied to the skin. The tiny needles in the patch can pierce the top layer of skin, where there are no pain-sensing nerve cells, and provide treatment without discomfort or pain.
MA patch systems have been developed for some pharmaceutical products, such as certain forms of contraception. They generally involve loading the drug as a liquid formulation, but physical constraints make it difficult to fit large amounts of drug into the patch. As a result, liquid-based patches are not suitable for antibody-based therapies that need to deliver significant amounts of antibody to be effective.
powder antibody therapy
To circumvent this, researchers led by a University of Connecticut scientist have developed a method that uses specific sugar molecules to stabilize antibodies as powders. The powdered antibody remained stable at body temperature for months, allowing approximately 20 times more drug to be loaded into the MA patch compared to conventional liquid formulations.
This method “provides a simple and effective manufacturing process for MA patches containing large amounts of therapeutic agents, which is particularly beneficial for patients. [antibody] Therapies and potentially other applications that require high doses of drugs or proteins,” the researchers wrote.
To control the rate of antibody release from the patch, the researchers used a MA in which tiny needles were made with a “shell” of PLGA, a biodegradable polymer widely used in medical devices because it is safe in the body. devised a system. The drug is released when the PLGA shell breaks. Researchers found that by fine-tuning the number and composition of the PLGA shells, the drug release rate could be fine-tuned.
Scientists conducted a proof-of-concept test of the patch system in rats with positive results. “We successfully used the MA patch to deliver multiple types of humans at high doses. [antibody] in a rat model,” the researchers wrote. “Our core-shell PLGA MA system was able to maintain the desired high dose. [antibody] concentration [in living rats] Over 25 days, the duration of a single skin insertion was remarkable in this animal model. ”
Researchers suggest that patch systems may be an alternative to injections and infusions of antibody therapy. reduces medical waste and improves access to treatment by eliminating the need for cold storage of patches.
“It solves a lot of problems,” said University of Connecticut study co-author Thanh Duc Nguyen. university news release.
