Drug-delivery Microchip Successfully Tested

The world's first clinical trial on a microchip implanted in the body to control the release of drugs has been carried out by US scientists.

The world's first clinical trial on a microchip implanted in the body to control the release of drugs has been carried out by US scientists. The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed that the wireless device successfully administered daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection.

MIT professor Robert Langer said the findings represent the first successful test of such a device and could help usher in a new era of telemedicine - delivering health care over a distance.

In the study, funded and overseen by MicroCHIPS, scientists used the implants to deliver osteoporosis drug teriparatide, manufactured by Eli Lilly, to seven women aged 65 to 70 over a period of four months.