Sponsored by Veloce Corporation – SmartTab. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
As a Crohn’s patient for the last 15 years, I’ve done my fair share of taking oral medications, receiving infusions and giving myself subcutaneous injections. So last summer, when I came across a digital health company called SmartTab, I was fascinated to learn about the wireless drug delivery solutions they are working on to change the way we take and absorb medications.
After having done a lot of research and seeing the buzz at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress ’21 on SmartTab’s poster session, I thought it’s now high time to share this technology with the IBD patient and caregiver community. In my mind, SmartTab’s solutions are very viable options for how we may be taking our medications in the near future.
So, how does SmartTab’s technology work and what exactly is a wireless drug delivery solution? A wireless drug delivery solution is a novel way of bringing medications we are already taking via mouth, via injection, etc., in ways that are more targeted so that we can achieve the optimal state in our disease management. SmartTab is currently working on two options, with a third one pending at the moment. These are called TargetTab, InjectTab and MultiTab. In my conversation with the Chief Technology Officer, Douglas Miller, Ph.D., Doug explained to me how each one of these options works.
TargetTab
If we look at TargetTab more closely, this is a capsule we ingest and it intelligently pinpoints locations at which to release the medication in the intestines. So what this looks like for us patients is we would wear an external patch on our abdomen in a location determined by our GI physician. Once ingested, the oral capsule will communicate with that patch using radio frequency (RF) technology to determine where in the intestines the medication should release. This would, of course, require a colonoscopy and imaging beforehand to determine the locations at which there is significant inflammation that require treatment.
Doug explained that the beauty of doing this is that, “medication can reach the areas that need it the most to reduce levels of inflammation and ulceration. Additionally, targeting the dosing to different locations also means the dose could be adjusted to a potentially lower dose, as the medication won’t have to be absorbed systemically.” What does a lower, more targeted dose mean for us as patients? Fewer side effects. How? The lower the dose, the less the body has to process, which means less for our liver and kidneys to process and break down. The more targeted the dose, the less systemic exposure our bodies have to the medication, which effectively means fewer side effects.
TargetTab’s results were presented at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress ’21 last month with much excitement from clinicians and patients alike. In animal studies, there were two groups studied: an experimental group receiving a caffeine TargetTab and a control group receiving caffeine orally. Analysis of the TargetTab containing caffeine indicated that absorption in the intestines was high and that caffeine concentrations were higher at the locations targeted in the experimental group.
As a result of this promising study, TargetTab will soon be moving into human trials. Once those are complete, SmartTab will be exploring seeking FDA approval for multiple oral treatment options within the IBD space from antibiotics to steroids, immunosuppressants and JAK inhibitors. Doing so will revolutionize the way we take and absorb our IBD medications.
InjectTab
InjectTab is yet another option SmartTab is in the process of developing. InjectTab is unique in that it is a needle-free option that utilizes a capsule to deliver injectable biologics and/or immunosuppression. As IBD patients, we may be wondering how that works especially because so many of us struggle with malabsorption. Upon ingesting the InjectTab capsule on an empty stomach, once InjectTab settles to the bottom of the stomach, the capsule “injects” the biologic via an implant into the stomach lining. The implant containing the medication dissolves very quickly and results in near-immediate absorption of the biologic agent into the bloodstream.
By using a capsule to intelligently inject the biologic, InjectTab essentially circumvents the need for us to inject ourselves week after week or month after month, based on whatever schedule we have been prescribed. It also allows for a time-released technology that can be customized based on a medication regimen as decided by our GI physicians. So it can slowly release into the body for a week or two or more to maintain steadier levels of the medication in the bloodstream. This means the body won’t seesaw or relapse as we near the time when we need to take our injection again.
InjectTab could easily revolutionize the way we take our biologics and injectable forms of immunosuppression. Many of us have needle-phobia and are bruising ourselves/getting allergic reactions on the injection site. We are not so keen on injecting ourselves and dealing with that anguish and anxiety every time. As such, I’m excited for trials to start in the InjectTab space and would love to see how absorption of InjectTab compares to the absorption measured in injecting ourselves.
As discussed with CEO & Founder, Bob Niichel, SmartTab has begun pre-clinical animal studies for InjectTab and is hoping to move into human studies later this year. Bob shared that they expect to see fewer side effects with InjectTab as well, “because the patient will be receiving smaller, more targeted doses of the biologic more frequently, the kidneys and liver won’t have to process such a huge dose at once. If you reduce the drug to a smaller amount, the impact of the side effects also lessens.”
Gaining FDA Approval
Once TargetTab and InjectTab finish their human studies, SmartTab will pair with pharmaceutical companies to perform clinical trials of specific medications with their TargetTab and InjectTab technologies to determine appropriate dosing for each medication. These will then be submitted for FDA approval for each of the respective medications and eventually make their way over to us patients so we can reap the benefits of more targeted routes of medication delivery. In the meantime, SmartTab will also continue working on MultiTab, another capsule-oriented solution that resides in the stomach for a week to release medication ingredients on a daily basis.
The Road to the Future of IBD
As IBD patients, there is a lot of up and coming research for us to process and really, digest. But as a patient advocate, I can say in addition to the growing pipeline of medications used to treat IBD, SmartTab’s wireless medication delivery solutions sound very promising. Their mode of delivering medications could hold the key to a future filled with better options for us with fewer side effects and greater quality of life.
So, own your Crohn’s, own your ulcerative colitis, and learn more about the various delivery methods for IBD medications that can enhance your quality of life and overall well-being!
To learn more and attend our webinar on Thursday, April 21st, 2022, please visit: https://platform.smarttab.co/investor-webinar-2.
As always, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts about the article! Sharing is caring. If you learned something new today, do share and spread the word about this emerging technology. Be well and best wishes, always!
