S. Bhonge, T. Rajangam, M. Papanikolas, D. Dos Santos Jardim, A.D. Ortega Zambrano, A. Vazquez-Guardado, R. Freeman
UNC-Chapel Hill,
United States
Keywords: Drug Delivery, Implant, Bioelectronic, Living Materials, Antibody
Summary:
Antibody drugs represent a promising therapeutic choice for the treatment of many chronic disorders. However, as lifetime maintenance is required, long term intravenous administration of antibodies leads to costly treatments, and a lack of patient compliance. I will show our progress towards developing an implantable ‘Living Pharmacy’ designed to produce therapeutic antibodies in the patient, at the right time, and at the right dose. Our approach involves putting living cells, engineered to produce therapies, within designer material manufacturing environments to make adaptive living therapies. Further equipping living materials with bioelectronic control and wireless communication will provide a path towards remote activation and programing of complex treatment plans for patients. This platform technology will make it easier and cheaper for patients living with lifelong diseases to continuously get the dosage they need when they need it.