Implantable 'Living Pharmacy' Device Produces Three Drugs in the Body

A new 3-in-1 pharmacy device delivers medicine with engineered cells that produce treatments for diabetes and HIV.

Mar. 30, 2026 at 7:19pm

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A bold, abstract painting in earthy tones of green, blue, and brown, featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circular forms, and precise botanical spirals, conceptually representing the intricate engineering and natural processes of an implantable drug delivery device.An implantable 'living pharmacy' device that continuously produces multiple drug therapies could revolutionize the treatment of complex diseases.Rice Today

A team of scientists from Northwestern, Rice, and Carnegie Mellon has developed an implantable 'living pharmacy' device called HOBIT that can produce three different types of medicine - an anti-HIV antibody, a diabetes treatment, and a hormone that helps regulate metabolism - using engineered cells. The device includes a miniature oxygen generator to keep the cells alive and producing the needed drugs for weeks at a time.

Why it matters

This innovative device could provide a way for patients with complex, chronic conditions to receive multiple therapies continuously without having to take daily medications. By keeping the engineered cells alive and producing the needed drugs, the implant acts as a 'programmable drug factory' inside the body, delivering treatments in a more stable and effective way.

The details

The HOBIT device packs engineered cells that can produce three different types of medicine - an anti-HIV antibody, a diabetes treatment, and a metabolism-regulating hormone. To keep the cells alive and productive, the researchers added a miniature oxygen generator that splits water molecules from the surrounding area. This allows the cell 'factories' to maintain much higher densities and stay healthy for up to a month, compared to just 20% cell survival in devices without the oxygenation technology.

  • The study was recently published in the journal Device.
  • The researchers are now looking to test the device in larger animal models.

The players

Jonathan Rivnay

A professor at Northwestern University who helped lead the project to develop the HOBIT implantable 'living pharmacy' device.

Northwestern University

One of the academic institutions, along with Rice University and Carnegie Mellon University, where the researchers developing the HOBIT device are based.

Rice University

One of the academic institutions, along with Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University, where the researchers developing the HOBIT device are based.

Carnegie Mellon University

One of the academic institutions, along with Northwestern University and Rice University, where the researchers developing the HOBIT device are based.

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What they’re saying

“We are producing oxygen directly where the cells need it. That allows us to support much higher cell densities in a much smaller space. Cell densities in HOBIT were roughly six times higher than conventional unoxygenated encapsulation approaches.”

— Jonathan Rivnay, Professor, Northwestern University

“This work highlights the broad potential of a fully integrated biohybrid platform for treating disease. Traditional biologic drugs often have very different half-lives, so maintaining stable levels of multiple therapies can be challenging. Because our implanted 'cell factories' continuously produce these biologics, keeping the cells alive with our oxygenation technology allows us to sustain steady levels multiple different therapeutics at once.”

— Jonathan Rivnay, Professor, Northwestern University

“We're beginning to see how bioelectronics and cell therapy can work together in a single platform. As these technologies continue to develop, devices like this could eventually act as programmable drug factories inside the body — delivering complex therapies in ways that simply aren't possible today.”

— Jonathan Rivnay, Professor, Northwestern University

What’s next

The team is now looking at testing this in larger animals. Down the road, they hope it could even be used to house pancreatic cells to help people living with diabetes.

The takeaway

This innovative 'living pharmacy' device represents a significant advancement in bioelectronics and cell therapy, potentially offering patients with complex, chronic conditions a way to receive multiple, continuously delivered treatments without the need for daily medications. The ability to sustain high cell densities and keep the cells alive through oxygenation is a key breakthrough that could unlock new possibilities for implantable drug delivery systems.