The Future of Protein Therapy

I think, the most sustained-released drug is that produced and delivered by in vivo cells, not those capsuled with bio-polymers such as DNA or other nano-tech products.


Medgenics may be one of the biotech companies on the right way to make this concept come true. It's a special form of gene therapy.

...In a simple outpatient procedure, the physician uses a specialized needle biopsy device under local anesthetic, to excise proprietary toothpick-sized tissue samples (microorgans) from under the patient's skin. Typically, one or a few microorgans may be needed. During the next ten days, Medgenics technology processes the microorgans into a biopumps: personalized production plants for a specific protein. The amount of protein produced by each biopump per day is measured, to determine how many biopumps to administer to the patient (one or several) for proper dosing. These are then re-injected under the patient's skin, where they produce and deliver fresh protein for at least four to six months.

The figure adpoted from Medgenics' scientific report shows the steps for delivering gene that encoded therapeutic protein like Erythropoietin and Interferon alfa by viruses into dermal tissue (B) and re-implanting back to patient to sustainedly produce proteins (C) .


This revolutionary technology indeed promises to markedly improve protein drug therapy, eliminating the need for frequent injections. When it comes to gene therapy, if it's really safe and reliable path for delivery of freshly made protein, the conclusion is still controversial.


Furthermore, Medgenics is now keeping the way to struggling for clinical trials.