Researchers receive grant to test rechargeable transcutaneous implant that provides HIV prevention drugs -
A research team Houston Methodist received a grant of nearly 4 million $ to test rechargeable transcutaneous implant which administers pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs for patients at risk of HIV exposure.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded Alessandro Grattoni, Ph.D., of several million grant over five years to improve the nanochannel distribution system (NDS) which provides an extended and constant release of drugs without the use of pumps, valves or a power supply.
Grattoni, chairman of the Department of Nanomedicine in Houston Research Institute Methodist, led the project, which has already demonstrated in pilot studies that the device has successfully published tenofovir alafenamide as, preventive pre-exposure prophylaxis over 21 days in animal models. NIAID funded the research will aim for large nanochannels in the NDS to allow a 60-day drug delivery.
Grattoni, also director of the Center for Nanomedicine space in Houston Methodist, the device will be tested in three of the 10 research projects planned aboard the international space station over the next five years.
many high-risk patients have already Truvada, a combination therapy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine in helping to prevent HIV-1 infection. However, the Centers for Disease Control says poor patient adherence is an ongoing challenge. Grattoni implantable device performs the drug delivery by sustained control of diffusion through the nanochannel membranes designed to be close to the size of molecules of drug released. PDN is implanted under the skin and filled through a port as required. If successful, the research will be the next step in the clinical trials of patients.
The World Health Organization estimates nearly 37 million people worldwide living with HIV / AIDS, and about 2 million newly infected people worldwide in 2014.
in addition to HIV prevention drugs Grattoni and team tested more than 50 drugs in the device. The larger goal is to prove that the technology is flexible and applicable to a variety of treatments, including hormone replacement, cancer prevention and treatment, mental disorders, substance abuse and metabolic syndrome.
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