Protein drugs are typically administered through injections, which can be unpleasant for patients and result in high healthcare costs
Scientists from RMIT University in Melbourne have designed a new type of oral capsule that can deliver protein drugs, such as insulin, painlessly.
Protein drugs are typically administered through injections, which can be unpleasant for patients and result in high healthcare costs.
Making the capsules, however, was not an easy task. Professor Charlotte Conn, who is the co-lead researcher in the study, said that protein drugs had proven challenging to deliver orally as the drugs degrade very quickly in the stomach
“These types of drugs are typically administered with an injection — thousands of diabetics in Australia need insulin injections up to several times a day, which can be unpleasant for the patient and results in high healthcare costs,” said Conn.
The new oral capsule addresses this challenge by protecting the drug inside and enabling it to safely pass through the stomach to the small intestine. The capsule has a special coating that does not break down in the stomach’s low pH environment, and the higher pH levels in the small intestine trigger the capsule to dissolve. The insulin is packaged inside a fatty nanomaterial within the capsule, which helps the insulin to cross the intestinal walls.
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Advantages of the new oral capsule
The oral capsule provides a pain-free method of delivering protein drugs, such as insulin. It could potentially be designed to allow dosing over specific time periods, similar to injection delivery. The use of oral capsules could reduce healthcare costs by eliminating the need for injections and potentially decreasing hospital visits.
Performance of the oral capsules?
The research paper assessed the performance of the oral capsules with both fast-acting and slow-acting insulin. Although the capsule demonstrated satisfactory absorption outcomes for fast-acting insulin, the significant lag in the insulin taking effect compared with injection delivery would likely make it less practical. However, the capsule showed real promise for using it with slow-acting insulin, which diabetics could take in addition to having fast-acting insulin injections.
Next steps for the scientists
The team needs to investigate further and develop a way of dosing over specific time periods for the oral capsules. They also need to undergo rigorous testing as part of future human trials to develop an alternative, cost-effective, and pain-free method for the delivery of insulin and other protein drugs.
“It’s a great starting point but we need to do further trials to develop an alternative, pain-free method for the delivery of insulin and other protein drugs,” said Dr Céline Valéry, a pharmaceutical scientist from RMIT’s School of Health and Biomedical Sciences and study co-author.
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