Needle Array Assembly and Method for Delivering Therapeutic Agents

Abstract

A fluid delivery device includes an array of needles, each in fluid communication with a respective reservoir. Respective actuators are coupled so as to be operable to drive fluid from the reservoirs via needle ports. Each needle can have a plurality of ports, and the ports can be arranged to deliver a substantially equal amount of fluid at any given location along its length. A driver is coupled to the actuators to selectively control the rate, volume, and direction of flow of fluid through the needles. The device can simultaneously deliver a plurality of fluid agents along respective axes in solid tissue in vivo. If thereafter resected, the tissue can be sectioned for evaluation of an effect of each agent on the tissue, and based on the evaluation, candidate agents selected or deselected for clinical trials or therapy, and subjects selected or deselected for clinical trials or therapeutic treatment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 955,676 filed Aug. 14, 2008, where this provisional application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]In general, the disclosed embodiments relate to devices and methods for the introduction and subsequent evaluation of therapeutic agents to biological tissue, and in particular to the simultaneous introduction of a plurality of agents to the tissue in vivo.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Numerous cancer-related therapeutics are under phase I or phase II clinical trial and evaluations at any particular time; however, most of them will fail to advance. In fact, it is estimated that more than 90% of cancer-related therapeutics will fail phase I or II clinical trial evaluation. The failure rate in phase III trials is almost 50%, and the cost of new drug development from dis...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a device for delivering a fluid to a solid tissue that includes a plurality of needles, a plurality of reservoirs, and a plurality of actuators. Each actuator is operatively coupled to a respective reservoir and is configured to control the pressure of the fluid inside the reservoir. The device can deliver the fluid to a specific location in the tissue and can be controlled to depress the needles at a selectable rate. The needles have a plurality of ports distributed along their length, which can evenly distribute the fluid and allow for simultaneous depression of all the needles. The device can also include a plunger driver and a motor for controlling the depression of the plunger. The method involves placing the needles in the tissue, introducing the agent in the reservoirs, and overpressurizing each needle to introduce the agent into the tissue. The device and method can be used for delivering a variety of fluids and can be used in various medical procedures.

Problems solved by technology

Numerous cancer-related therapeutics are under phase I or phase II clinical trial and evaluations at any particular time; however, most of them will fail to advance.

The failure rate in phase III trials is almost 50%, and the cost of new drug development from discovery through phase III trials is between $0.8 billion and $1.7 billion and can take between eight and ten years.

In addition, many patients fail to respond even to standard drugs that have been shown to be efficacious.

For reasons that are not currently well understood or easily evaluated, individual patients may not respond to standard drug therapy.

One significant challenge in the field of oncology is to exclude drug selection for individual patients having cell autonomous resistance to a candidate drug to reduce the risk of unnecessary side effects.

A related problem is that excessive systemic concentrations are required for many oncology drug candidates in efforts to achieve a desired concentration at a tumor site, an issue compounded by poor drug penetration in many under-vascularized tumors (Tunggal et al., 1999 Clin. Canc. Res. 5:1583).

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