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The biomedical revolution promises a future of miracle drugs. The problem: Many treatments will be made up of proteins, peptides, and other large molecules that are ineffective when administered by conventional means. So how do you get them into your body? Pills are out - gut enzymes chew through these unstable behemoths. Injections are painful, expensive, and difficult to do yourself. The solution: Rethink the technologies behind implants, inhalers, and patches. The $40 billion global market for such devices is expected to double by 2008. Here are some of the most promising ideas.
1. Implants: MicroCHIPS, a biotech firm in Bedford, Massachusetts, used chip fab techniques to build a dime-sized silicon implant that sits just beneath the skin in the abdomen. The system contains hundreds of microwells, each designed to hold one super-concentrated dose of medicine such as steroids, interferons, and various hormones. The drug dump can be controlled by biosensor, remote control, or preprogrammed microprocessor. The new implant, due around 2007, will make first-gen devices like Norplant look primitive.
2. Inhalers: Insulin is already a $1 billion-a-year industry - so finding a better way to deliver the large-molecule hormone would be a big deal. Aradigm in Hayward, California, is testing AerX, an inhaler that uses inkjet printer nozzle technology to convert liquid into aerosol. When it's time for a dose, the device's electromechanical detector gauges optimal breath flow, then fires, so the insulin can penetrate the deepest part of the lungs. Aradigm aims to make AerX available in 2006.
3. Patches: The Alza Corporation in Mountain View, California, is working on E-trans, a 1-inch patch made of electrical components. Its internal battery zaps drugs - such as fentanyl, an opiate analgesic used to treat chronic pain - into the skin. An early version of the system will hit the market within three years. Further down the line: a patch that uses a thin screen of titanium (the most biocompatible metal) that acts like thousands of almost imperceptible needles.
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