Nov 20 2010
Novartis is focusing on developing an ingestible smart pill that will produce a signaling impulse, which can further be analyzed for studying the effect of the administered drug on the patient. The regulatory problem associated with the administration of such intelligent pill is related to its information security.
The Swiss drug developer, Novartis,has invested $24 million to acquire chip-in-a-pill technology of Proteus Biomedical. The company will be implementing this novel technology on a prevailing certified drug used for preventing post-transplant organ rejection.
According to Proteus, their propreitary chip technology functions on swallowable event markers, that are probes designed from food ingredients. These sensing devices or probes are stimulated by fluids in the stomach and will generate a digital signal that will be captured by a microelectronic recorder located inside a bandage similar to a skin patch. These chips are produced at wafer scale on silicon molecules and will cost only a few cents per each sensor when produced in bulk quantities, says the company.
The detector will record the time and date when the signal is generated for the first time from the swallowed chip-enabled drug. It is also capable of decoding the data as type of drug, place of manufacture and its dosage. It is significant to doctors and patients, since it has the potential to calibrate and record physiological activities such as the respiratory rate, heart rate and other biological activities.
Source: http://www.novartis.com