Interval delivery of 5HT2A agonists using multilayered polymer films

• Published in: Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A Vol. 111; no. 6; pp. 790 - 800
• Main Authors: Hossain, Mehjabeen, Sulochana, Suresh P., Heath, Katie E., Bari, Saif Mohammad Ishraq, Brewster, Parker, Barnes, Jared, Munivar, Azim, Walker, Glenn M., Puleo, David A., Werfel, Thomas A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.06.2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: 5HT2A agonist; Acetic acid; Agonists; Biocompatibility; Biodegradation; Cellulose acetate; Clinical trials; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Health services; interval drug delivery; Mental depression; microdosing; Patients; Pharmacokinetics; Polymer films; polymeric films; Polymers; Psychedelic drugs; psychedelics; Risk management; Thickness
• ISSN: 1549-3296; 1552-4965
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37497

There is an urgent unmet medical need to develop therapeutic options for the ~50% of depression patients suffering from treatment‐resistant depression, which is difficult to treat with existing psycho‐ and pharmaco‐therapeutic options. Classical psychedelics, such as the 5HT2A agonists, have re‐emerged as a treatment paradigm for depression. Recent clinical trials highlight the potential effectiveness of 5HT2A agonists to improve mood and psychotherapeutic growth in treatment‐resistant depression patients, even in those who have failed a median of four previous medications in their lifetime. Moreover, microdosing could be a promising way to achieve long‐term alleviation of depression symptoms without a hallucinogenic experience. However, there are a gamut of practical barriers that stymie further investigation of microdosing 5HT2A agonists, including: low compliance with the complicated dosing regimen, high risk of diversion of controlled substances, and difficulty and cost administering the long‐term treatment regimens in controlled settings. Here, we developed a drug delivery system composed of multilayered cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP)/Pluronic F‐127 (P) films for the encapsulation and interval delivery of 5HT2A agonists from a fully biodegradable and biocompatible implant. CAPP film composition, thickness, and layering strategies were optimized, and we demonstrated three distinct pulses from the multilayered CAPP films in vitro. Additionally, the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of the 5HT2A agonist 2,5‐Dimethoxy‐4‐iodoamphetamine (DOI) were quantified following the subcutaneous implantation of DOI‐loaded single and multilayered CAPP films. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the interval delivery of psychedelics from an implantable drug delivery system and open the door to future studies into the therapeutic potential of psychedelic delivery.