Novartis AG, using technology licensed from Proteus Biomedical, is currently developing the Ingestible Event Marker (IEM), a specialized microchip which the company plans to add to pills. When a patient ingests an IEM-enhanced pill, their stomach acids activate the microchip, which then sends data such as heart rate, temperature, and body movements to a dermal patch via Bluetooth connectivity. This patch can then export the data to an EMR, so that it can be accessed by the patient’s doctors. Novartis claims that because their device will not alter the effects of the drugs it is paired with, they could bring the IEM to market in as little as two years.
More from Reuters:
The initial program will use one of the Swiss firm’s established drugs taken by transplant patients to avoid organ rejection. But Trevor Mundel, global head of development, believes the concept can be applied to many other pills.
“We are taking forward this transplant drug with a chip and we hope within the next 18 months to have something that we will be able to submit to the regulators, at least in Europe,” Mundel told the Reuters Health Summit in New York.
“I see the promise as going much beyond that,” he added.
Full story: Look out, your medicine is watching you …
Proteus Biomedical…
Flashbacks: Proteus’ Wireless Personal Health Monitor Receives 510(k) Clearance; Chip-on-a-Pill, and Other Micro-Electro-Medical Devices; Proteus Pill Ingestion Monitoring System Gets EU Green Light; A Quick Look at The Status of Smart Pill Technology; Microchipped BP Pills Remind Patients to Take Their Meds