Alex Abramson's guest appearances

Alex Abramson

Finding Genius Podcast

FutureTech Podcast

Naveed Akbar

Marc Guell

Laura Potterat

Jan Vijg

Paul Turner

Eleftherios Mylonakis

Cory Kidd

Charles C.J

Helius Medical Technologies

Patrick McKeown

Michael G. Surette

Katelyn Parsons

John Tucker

Jake Kushner

Erik Gunther

OwlTail

Most people have an aversion to needles, and for good reason—they cause pain and are usually associated with unpleasant experiences, not to mention the regular use of them leads to a significant amount of biohazardous waste. For the over 30 million Americans who have diabetes, however, the use of needles for insulin delivery is unavoidable or at least imminent. But this might not be the case for long. Alex Abramson is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at MIT, and for the past four years, he’s been working on the development of a new pill for the oral delivery of insulin and other biologics. Inspired by the shape and density distribution of self-righting tortoises, the pill is designed to self-orient toward the stomach wall, sense the humidity in the stomach’s environment, and release a drug-loaded post directly into the stomach tissue with the use of a needle no larger than one millimeter in diameter. Funded by a pharmaceutical company by the name of Novo Nordisk, the project has already been published and is generating a ton of excitement. With numerous studies showing efficacy in large animal models, Abramson is hoping to bring the device into human clinical trials within the next two years. On today’s podcast, Abramson explains the ins and outs of the mechanism behind the pill, how he came up with this idea, the potential it holds, and one of his primary concerns. Check out the link below to watch a video depicting how exactly the pill works, and press play to hear the full conversation.  https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M

Most people have an aversion to needles, and for good reason—they cause pain and are usually associated with unpleasant experiences, not to mention the regular use of them leads to a significant amount of biohazardous waste. For the over 30 million Americans who have diabetes, however, the use of needles for insulin delivery is unavoidable or at least imminent. But this might not be the case for long. Alex Abramson is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at MIT, and for the past four years, he’s been working on the development of a new pill for the oral delivery of insulin and other biologics. Inspired by the shape and density distribution of self-righting tortoises, the pill is designed to self-orient toward the stomach wall, sense the humidity in the stomach’s environment, and release a drug-loaded post directly into the stomach tissue with the use of a needle no larger than one millimeter in diameter. Funded by a pharmaceutical company by the name of Novo Nordisk, the project has already been published and is generating a ton of excitement. With numerous studies showing efficacy in large animal models, Abramson is hoping to bring the device into human clinical trials within the next two years. On today’s podcast, Abramson explains the ins and outs of the mechanism behind the pill, how he came up with this idea, the potential it holds, and one of his primary concerns. Check out the link below to watch a video depicting how exactly the pill works, and press play to hear the full conversation.  <a href="https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M</a>

No More Needles: Self-Orienting Pill for the Oral Delivery of Insulin—Alex Abramson—Chemical Engineering at MIT

Most of us are familiar with the self-righting movement of tortoises and turtles—it’s a display that serves as entertainment for some, and wonder for others, but for Alex Abramson, it served as inspiration for a new drug delivery system for insulin and other biologic drugs. He has engineered an ingestible, self-orienting pill that is designed to deliver tiny injections in the stomach wall, thereby removing the need for subcutaneous injections such as those that diabetics have to self-administer. How does it work? Once the pill is swallowed, it is designed to land at the bottom of the stomach within five minutes and orient itself toward the tissue wall where the drug needs to be delivered. Equipped with a hydration-based actuator, the pill senses the humidity of the stomach environment and inserts a drug-loaded post directly into the stomach tissue with a needle less than one millimeter in diameter. The post then dissolves and allows for systemic uptake comparable to subcutaneous injection.   Abramson is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at MIT, and for the past four years, he’s been working closely with Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that has sponsored this project. The project has been published, multiple studies using large animal models have been completed, and they are looking to bring the product into clinical trials within the next two years. Among other topics, Abramson joins the podcast to discuss how the shape and density distribution of the pill was inspired by the shape and density distribution of self-righting tortoises, what prevents perforation of stomach tissue with injection, why the sensor was designed to detect humidity rather than acidity, and the many benefits of this system of drug delivery that you probably haven’t even thought of.   Tune in for all the details, and follow this link https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M to watch a video on how exactly the pill works. 

Most of us are familiar with the self-righting movement of tortoises and turtles—it’s a display that serves as entertainment for some, and wonder for others, but for Alex Abramson, it served as inspiration for a new drug delivery system for insulin and other biologic drugs. He has engineered an ingestible, self-orienting pill that is designed to deliver tiny injections in the stomach wall, thereby removing the need for subcutaneous injections such as those that diabetics have to self-administer. How does it work? Once the pill is swallowed, it is designed to land at the bottom of the stomach within five minutes and orient itself toward the tissue wall where the drug needs to be delivered. Equipped with a hydration-based actuator, the pill senses the humidity of the stomach environment and inserts a drug-loaded post directly into the stomach tissue with a needle less than one millimeter in diameter. The post then dissolves and allows for systemic uptake comparable to subcutaneous injection. Abramson is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at MIT, and for the past four years, he’s been working closely with Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that has sponsored this project. The project has been published, multiple studies using large animal models have been completed, and they are looking to bring the product into clinical trials within the next two years. Among other topics, Abramson joins the podcast to discuss how the shape and density distribution of the pill was inspired by the shape and density distribution of self-righting tortoises, what prevents perforation of stomach tissue with injection, why the sensor was designed to detect humidity rather than acidity, and the many benefits of this system of drug delivery that you probably haven’t even thought of. Tune in for all the details, and follow this link <a href="https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/w7UTwEPYD4M</a> to watch a video on how exactly the pill works.

A Tortoise-Inspired Alternative to Subcutaneous Injections—Alex Abramson—Chemical Engineering at MIT