A Revolutionary Hydrogel for Diabetes Treatment: Three Injections Per Year

Engineers from Stanford have introduced an injectable hydrogel depot system, significantly improving the administration of GLP-1 drugs for diabetes treatment. This new method requires only quarterly injections instead of the current daily regimen. Andrea Ivana d’Aquino from Stanford University provided a supporting photo for this groundbreaking development.

The frequent need for daily injections in managing Type 2 diabetes presents challenges for many patients. However, a recent innovation from Stanford’s materials engineering team could reduce this to merely three injections annually. This hydrogel technology promises to change the frequency of administering diabetes and weight control medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Victoza, and more from daily or weekly to just once every four months.

Published in “Cell Reports Medicine,” researchers anticipate that this technology will significantly enhance diabetes and weight management, increase patient adherence to medication schedules, and improve long-term health for Type 2 diabetes sufferers.

These medications mimic the effects of the GLP-1 hormone, aiding in diet management and weight control. However, the conventional daily or weekly injection schedule can be cumbersome for patients. Eric Appel, an associate professor at Stanford and the lead researcher of the new hydrogel, emphasizes that reducing the injection frequency to three times a year could greatly simplify adherence to medication regimens for those with diabetes or obesity.

Type 2 diabetes affects half a billion people globally, including 130 million in the United States alone, with treatment costs in the U.S. exceeding $400 billion annually. The recently introduced GLP-1 drugs have been hailed as breakthroughs, offering significant control over energy intake with minimal side effects.

The hydrogel’s unique property lies in its composition of nanoparticles, which gradually release the drug as the hydrogel dissolves over several months. This polymer-nanoparticle (PNP) hydrogel combines fluidity for easy injection and stability for duration, gradually dispensing the medication.

In practice, a small amount of the drug-infused hydrogel is injected under the skin. Appel’s team has meticulously designed the hydrogel to be both unobtrusive and effective for the entire four-month period. This design aligns with typical patient check-up schedules.

Promising results have been observed in laboratory rats, where the hydrogel system outperformed daily injections in managing blood glucose and weight. The team has also adapted the hydrogel for various timeframes, ranging from days to six months, and sees potential for its use with other drugs and medical conditions, including Type 1 diabetes in children.

Next steps include testing in pigs, followed by potential human clinical trials within one and a half to two years. Appel is optimistic about the hydrogel’s impact on managing Type 2 diabetes and possibly other conditions.

This research, detailed in the article “Use of a biomimetic hydrogel depot technology for sustained delivery of GLP-1 receptor agonists reduces burden of diabetes management,” was supported by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Stanford Diabetes Research Center. Co-authors include Andrea d’Aquino, Caitlin Maikawa, Leslee T. Nguyen, and others from Stanford, along with collaborators from Novo Nordisk. Appel’s affiliations include the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and other notable Stanford institutes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Hydrogel Diabetes Treatment

More about Hydrogel Diabetes Treatment

• Stanford University’s Hydrogel Research
• GLP-1 Drugs and Diabetes Treatment
• Innovations in Diabetes Management
• Hydrogel Technology in Medicine
• Eric Appel’s Research at Stanford
• Cell Reports Medicine Journal
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Stanford Diabetes Research Center