Breakthrough implant offers hope for millions with diabetes
Baku, February 16, AZERTAC
Israeli and U.S. scientists have developed a biological implant that could one day eliminate the need for insulin injections, introducing a new approach to treating diabetes and other chronic diseases by allowing therapeutic cells to function long-term inside the body without immune rejection, according to TPS-IL.
The technology, developed by an international team led by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, is based on a living implant that continuously produces insulin from within the body.
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes, occurs when the body cannot produce insulin, while Type 2 diabetes develops when the body does not use insulin properly or does not make enough of it. Patients with Type 1 diabetes must rely on frequent subcutaneous injections or insulin pumps, treatments that demand constant monitoring and can significantly affect daily life, particularly for children and adolescents. The implant is most relevant for Type 1 patients because it replaces the body’s missing insulin-producing function. People with Type 2 diabetes often still produce some insulin, so their condition can frequently be managed with medication, lifestyle changes, or partial insulin therapy.
Globally, around 9.2 million people of all ages have Type 1 diabetes, according to figures released by the International Diabetes Federation in 2025. The federation projected that this number will increase to 14.7 million by 2040.
Efforts to replace insulin injections with cell-based implants have been explored for years, but most have failed because the immune system attacks implanted cells, destroying them or rendering them ineffective. Other approaches rely on external sensors, pumps, or immune-suppressing drugs, limiting their long-term use.
The new implant is designed to overcome those barriers. It functions as an autonomous artificial pancreas made of engineered living cells that directly sense glucose levels and release insulin as needed, without external devices or ongoing intervention. The key innovation lies in how those cells are protected inside the body.
“This is essentially a factory for manufacturing drugs inside the body,” Dr. Shadi Farah of the Technion’s Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering said. “The implant knows when insulin is needed and releases the exact amount at the right time.”
The research team encased the insulin-producing cells in specially engineered crystalline structures that shield them from immune attack. Unlike conventional polymer-based capsules used in earlier implants, the crystal-based protection is mechanically stable and selectively permeable, allowing glucose, oxygen, nutrients, and insulin to pass through while blocking immune cells.
“The crystalline protection is what allows the implant to function over time,” Farah explained. “Without it, the immune system would destroy the therapeutic cells.”
The research was conducted in collaboration with scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Massachusetts. The implant’s effectiveness was demonstrated in several animal models, where it maintained glucose regulation over extended periods without immune suppression. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine.
Farah said the publication marks a personal and scientific milestone, noting that the project began during his postdoctoral research in the United States in 2018. “Seeing it mature into a full platform and appear on the cover of such a journal is a dramatic closing of the circle for me,” he said.
Beyond diabetes, the researchers say the implant represents a broader therapeutic platform rather than a single-disease solution. Because the system can continuously deliver biologic drugs from living cells, it could be adapted for other chronic conditions. Conditions such as hemophilia, which require regular administration of clotting factors, could potentially benefit from a steady, self-regulating supply produced directly inside the body. More broadly, the technology represents a new class of “living medicines,” where engineered implants act as autonomous drug factories capable of producing therapeutic proteins on demand.
Although the technology has not yet been tested in humans, Farah said the results so far support moving toward clinical trials. “We have shown robust performance in animal models. Our hope is to move toward clinical trials in the near future,” he stressed.
“This is a dramatic paradigm shift,” Farah said. “I hope our findings will translate into treatments that improve and prolong the lives of millions of patients around the world.”
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