Published
ARPA-H announces awards for real-time drug delivery and disease tracking to allow people to take better control of their health
REACT performer teams aim to create bioelectronic devices that allow people to administer treatments and monitor disease from within their bodies without frequent clinic visits
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the teams selected by its Resilient Extended Automatic Cell Therapies (REACT) program to receive awards. The agency is funding solutions to automatically deliver treatments and monitor for disease from within an individual’s body using bioelectronic devices.
The teams selected by ARPA-H will develop bioelectronic devices to be implanted in patients through minor outpatient surgery. The devices will interface with a simple yet secure software platform or app, allowing users to track their condition directly. All four teams aim to develop an implantable “Living Pharmacy” programmed to deliver therapeutic molecules to the patient on demand for an extended period. One team also aims to create a “Living Sentinel” to measure key biomarkers in the body and monitor their condition in real-time.
“REACT is a perfect example of the type of high-impact solutions ARPA-H aims to invest in,” said ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn, Ph.D. “For the millions of people living with a chronic condition, like diabetes, thyroid disease, or obesity, REACT intends to develop new technologies that will allow them to administer more precise treatments and monitor their condition more easily so they can lead their healthiest lives.”
“REACT and our performer teams seek to drastically improve a person’s ability to get their medicine when and where they need it,” said REACT Program Manager Paul Sheehan, Ph.D. “REACT will start by developing the Living Pharmacy and Living Sentinel to address specific conditions, such as inflammation, diabetes, and hypothyroidism, with the hopes of creating devices that will allow those living with chronic conditions to better self-manage their condition.”
The performer teams will explore several approaches to produce drugs from a bioelectronic device inside the body. ARPA-H will closely monitor their research to evaluate which approach is most promising. Teams pursuing the development of the Living Pharmacy and Living Sentinel are led by:
- The Mayo Clinic, focusing on the Living Pharmacy track, which will use engineered cells stored in a bioelectronic device to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Their Engage Assess Secrete (EASE) device will release antibodies to address inflammation and alleviate the current treatment burden of drugs administered every 2-8 weeks.
- A team from Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on the Living Pharmacy track, which will address obesity and diabetes through its RX On-site Generation Using Electronics (ROGUE), which will precisely stimulate cells within a device to produce drugs to decrease a person’s appetite and cause weight loss while eliminating the need for periodic injections.
- A team from Columbia University, focusing on the Living Pharmacy track, which will address obesity and diabetes by developing the Bioelectronics for the Delivery of Synthetic Therapeutic with Wireless Control (BIOSYNC) device. They will explore a complementary approach to produce drugs that regulate appetite, digestion, and blood sugar.
- Another team from Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on both the Living Sentinel and the Living Pharmacy tracks, which will monitor and treat hypothyroidism through their Biointegrated Implantable Systems for Cell-based Sensing and Therapy (BIO-INSYNC) device. BIO-INSYNC will continuously measure a person’s hormone levels and produce precise doses of a missing hormone to maintain proper levels, reducing the burden for people who require life-long daily treatments.
The performers’ awards are ceilings based on each performer meeting its contractual milestones.
For more on REACT, visit the REACT program page.