Researchers from the University of Akron, Ohio, have developed a device made from a degradable polymer mesh that may assist in the fight against the opioid epidemic.
Opioids
The degradable polymer mesh contains a non-opioid pain medicine and has been designed to be implanted in the body. Once implanted it releases the pain medicine allowing for treatment over a period of three to four days.
The team at Akron is led by polymer science professor Matthew Becker, who became dismayed by how little opioids cost when his wife was prescribed them after surgery.
Last year, Becker’s research received a $2 million grant as part of Ohio state’s Third Frontier Commission effort to boost technological ways to fight the epidemic.
Speaking about the issue, Becker said: “People are desperate for anything that will take chunks out of the problem. You have to control pain, and you can’t chop somebody open and send them home with Tylenol. Physicians would love to have a functional alternative [to opioids] for even a small subset of the population. Anything that would help.”
A key aspect of the mesh is that it doesn’t produce lactic acid, Becker says. Acid products are found in many polymer applications for human use and can cause inflammation which interferes with the delivery of the drug.
New rules have been introduced in Ohio that limit the number of opioids doctors can prescribe. It’s estimated that between 21–29% of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, and between 8–12% develop an opioid use disorder. More so, it’s estimated that 4–6% of those who misuse prescriptions opioids transition to heroin.
Becker founded the company 21MedTech to commercialise degradable polymer technologies for medical applications. The company has licensed the degradable polymer technology and plans to submit the device to the FDA by the end of the year.
21MedTech and the University of Akron are now working with pharmaceutical company Merck on the mesh project.