Lyndra

What if we stopped trying to change the people, and we changed the pill instead?

At Lyndra, we aim to fundamentally change the way people take medicine. Through the development of oral, ultra long-acting, sustained release therapies, we hope to drastically improve adherence and efficacy. Recent studies have shown that adherence significantly improves with less frequent dosing, such as weekly or monthly administration(2). Better adherence leads to better health outcomes. For instance, it is estimated that improved adherence to antihypertensive treatment alone could prevent 89,000 premature deaths in the United States annually(3). Our technology was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Langer in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Lyndra formulations transform the daily pill into a weekly or monthly dose, promising to improve patient adherence as well as to optimize the pharmacokinetic profile of the dosage form. With weekly or even monthly dosing, the technology promises to redefine what long-acting oral formulation means. Lyndra's innovative oral formulations work via gastric residence. Once inside the stomach, the dosage form, which is encapsulated in a gelatin capsule, adopts a star-shaped configuration. Due to its size and geometry the system remains in the gastric cavity until pre-determined break points permit the formulation to split into small pieces and safely pass through the GI tract similarly to indigestible food. While in the gastric cavity the formulation releases drug at a site of high absorption in the human body. The rate of drug release, as well as the time point of dissolution, are highly adjustable features. Providing a single, ultra long-acting pill eliminates the need to take pills daily thereby simplifying patients’ lives and ensuring their disease is consistently and continuously treated.