A 'Microneedle' Pill You Can Swallow Could Replace Insulin Shots

Nobody likes getting shots. But most of us only have to face needles occasionally, for a seasonal flu vaccine or routine blood test. People with some forms of diabetes, on the other hand, have to inject themselves with insulin two to four times a day just to stay alive.

A new kind of pill developed at MIT could change all that. The capsule is swallowed and passes through the stomach whole, then opens in the small intestine to reveal "microneedles" that attach to the intestine surface and deliver drugs to the bloodstream. This makes it possible to swallow protein drugs like insulin that would normally be destroyed by stomach acids.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/microneedle-pill-you-can-swallow-could-replace-insulin-shots-180973380/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191022-daily-responsive&spMailingID=40943627&spUserID=NTkyNzY2ODg1MzgyS0&spJobID=1622045762&spReportId=MTYyMjA0NTc2MgS2