U of M researchers compete to produce transformative autoimmune treatment
Researchers studying chronic inflammatory diseases
A University of Minnesota research team earned a $11.6 million grant to work with the Mayo Clinic on a device designed to transform the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases like Crohn's and colitis.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A medical breakthrough is growing at the University of Minnesota.
A research team is part of a huge, $42.8 million project to build a pharmacy in your body and FOX 9 got an exclusive first look.
What's the problem?
Severe tummy trouble:
Gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can be crippling.
"Generally, it's cramping and diarrhea and bleeding with your stools," said Dr. Jon Reich, an Essentia Health gastroenterologist. "People can become dehydrated, have pain, and get anemic."
About 3 million Americans require treatment for Crohn’s and colitis that either brings them to a hospital for a couple hours of infusions every few weeks or requires injections at home every two weeks.
Transformative treatment
Gopher genomes:
But now a University of Minnesota research project could create a once-a-year option, implanting a device inside a patient.
"This small device is very complex," said Dr. Branden Moriarity, a U of M research scientist.
He's one of the leaders of a 10-person research team working with about 40 scientists at the Mayo Clinic on an $11.6 million grant to help the device produce the specialized treatment known as biologics.
"We're doing the genome engineering of the cells that will survive and live in the device and actually continuously produce the biologics," Moriarity said.
An app in the body
Your own micro-pharmacy:
They're keeping the specific design details under wraps for now, but FOX 9 got a sneak peek.
It's about the size of a dime with all the electronics and the cells that would act as a micro-pharmacy – producing therapeutics on demand inside your body to target inflammation.
Think of it like an insulin pump for diabetics, only it's essentially an app that stops your severe tummy trouble.
"The idea of just having basically a button on a watch release the drug that you need, obviously without any sort of invasive administration would be huge from the quality-of-life standpoint," said the team's other leader, Dr. Beau Webber.
High impact, if successful
Clinical competition:
The grant is from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a relatively new government agency funding high risk and potentially high impact innovation.
And it’s a competition, so the Minnesota team is up against two others.
They’re in the developmental stage now, but human clinical trials start within five years and if all goes well, patients could get the device by 2031.