Ultra-long-acting tunable biodegradable and removable controlled release implants for drug delivery

Here we report an ultra-long-acting tunable, biodegradable, and removable polymer-based delivery system that offers sustained drug delivery for up to one year for HIV treatment or prophylaxis. This robust formulation offers the ability to integrate multiple drugs in a single injection, which is particularly important to address the potential for drug resistance with monotherapy. Six antiretroviral drugs were selected based on their solubility in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and relevance as a combination therapy for HIV treatment or prevention. All drugs released with concentrations above their protein-adjusted inhibitory concentration and retained their physical and chemical properties within the formulation and upon release. The versatility of this formulation to integrate multiple drugs and provide sustained plasma concentrations from several weeks to up to one year, combined with its ability to be removed to terminate the treatment if necessary, makes it attractive as a drug delivery platform technology for a wide range of applications. Patient drug regime compliance is a major issue; sustained release implants could address this. Here, the authors report on a phase inverted in situ forming implant of PLGA for the sustained release of antiretroviral drugs and optimize and demonstrate the release of 6 different drugs over a period of up to a year.