2026-03-27 ノースウェスタン大学
Researchers have developed a device that integrates engineered drug-producing cells with oxygen-producing bioelectronics, marking a crucial step toward “living pharmacies” that could treat chronic conditions with a single, long-lasting therapy. Photo credit Jared Jones/Rice University
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2026/03/implantable-living-pharmacy-produces-multiple-drugs-inside-the-body
- https://www.cell.com/device/abstract/S2666-9986(26)00058-X
- https://medibio.tiisys.com/118731/
カプセル化された細胞療法における生体内酸素供給のための、ワイヤレスで完全埋め込み可能なプラットフォームの設計 Design of a wireless, fully implantable platform for in-situ oxygenation of encapsulated cell therapies
Chris Wright ∙ Abhijith Surendran ∙ Inkyu Lee ∙ … ∙ Tzahi Cohen-Karni ∙ Jonathan Rivnay ∙ Omid Veiseh
Device Published:March 27, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2026.101106
The bigger picture
Biologics have become increasingly prevalent in treating many diseases, such as cancer, neurological disorders, autoimmune syndromes, and diabetes. As biologic therapy becomes more targeted and complex, cell therapy has been demonstrated as a natural next step—biologic production can move from the factory to inside the patient, greatly simplifying the manufacturing process. The difficulty lies in making cells potent enough to be clinically relevant and easy to administer. The hybrid oxygenation bioelectronics system for implanted therapy (HOBIT) device solves these problems: supplemental oxygen is produced at the site of implant and enables a greater density of cells in the subcutaneous space, allowing a minimally invasive procedure to deliver a complex biologic regimen in a proof-of-concept model. From here, the platform can be expanded to target a variety of diseases or cell types to maximize efficacy and feasible translation.
Highlights
- A fully implantable, subcutaneous device enables high-density cell therapy
- Complex biologic therapy regimens are enabled with the HOBIT design
- The HOBIT device demonstrates power-efficient, subcutaneous oxygen generation
Summary
Cell therapy shows promise for sustained delivery of therapeutics, allowing a single dose to replace repeated injections and lasting many months to years. As cells are typically delivered systemically, a natural progression of cell therapy is to miniaturize and compact the cells into a single device. However, the nutrient requirements, coupled with practical limits on device size, limit its application. In addition, while the subcutaneous space presents a convenient location for implantation, oxygen supply is limited and restricts the density of effective cell therapy. To address this problem, we designed and validated a wireless, fully implantable platform to produce local oxygen and increase the maximum cell density. We demonstrate that encapsulated cells with a density of 60 million cells per mL are viable in our device for 31 days in vivo. This technology has the potential to serve as a platform for cell therapy, allowing clinically relevant doses with minimally invasive implants.
