Only one pill a month? Breakthrough may reinvent medicine

(BPT) – Imagine a world where you could toss out your daily pill box and simply take a single pill that would deliver a week or month’s worth of medicine. A world where you wouldn’t have to worry if your loved ones remembered to take their pills each day; where instead, adhering to medicine was a once-a-week or once-a-month proposition.The good news is that science is very close to making long-acting oral pills a reality, thanks to a new, breakthrough drug delivery platform designed to deliver multiple days’ worth of medicine in one dose.For two-thirds (66%) of Americans, prescription drugs — particularly daily pills — are necessary to maintain their health.[i] Yet taking these pills — often at different times throughout the day — can be difficult for both patients and caregivers who assist those they love with following medical instructions. In fact, a survey of more than 1,600 adults found that up to 60% of patients and caregivers said they struggle with adherence (taking pills as prescribed).[ii] Daily compliance can be especially challenging for people taking multiple medicines and those with neurological or mental health conditions that cause them to forget to take their medicines.“We know that nine out of 10 patients prefer oral pills to other forms of medication delivery,[iii] but long-acting pills haven’t been possible for most medicines — until now,” said Rich Scranton, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer at Lyndra Therapeutics. “Lyndra’s LYNX™ drug delivery platform has the potential for broad applicability across multiple oral therapies — including approved drugs and those currently in development.”The LYNX™ platform is designed to deliver long-acting therapies within a standard-sized oral capsule. The capsule includes drug-containing “arms” that are designed to deliver medicine steadily for the desired dosing period.In a recent survey conducted by Lyndra, 80% of patients said they found the concept of an oral weekly pill appealing due to its ability to simplify their lives and make taking medicines easier to remember,[iv] said Scranton. “By replacing daily pills with long-acting oral therapies that are designed to deliver up to a month’s worth of medicine, the LYNX™ platform has the potential to improve medication adherence, positively impacting the risk of relapse, hospitalization and other negative health consequences.”Lyndra’s LYNX™ platform is being studied in multiple therapeutic areas. Pivotal clinical trials for the LYNX™ platform with risperidone in people living with schizophrenia are planned to initiate within the next quarter. Phase 1 trials investigating the LYNX™ platform for ivermectin (to aid in malaria eradication) recently began, and additional studies are planned for the near future for opioid use disorder, women’s health and cardiometabolic medications.“Lyndra’s LYNX™ drug delivery platform is designed to transform the patient experience,” said Scranton. “We are deeply committed to bringing the LYNX™ platform to patients, freeing them from the burden of daily pills and simplifying their lives.”For more information about how long-acting oral therapies have the potential to reinvent medicine, please visit Lyndra.com.[i] Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, “Prescription Drugs”: https://hpi.georgetown.edu/rxdrugs/[ii] Patient Unmet Needs Survey (Q3’21; n=1645 patients and caregivers) – data on file[iii] Ibid[iv] Ibid