Propulsive drug delivery from a swallowable device into a patients intestinal tract

A method for delivering a therapeutic agent into a wall of a patient's intestinal tract, the method comprising:

• providing a swallowable capsule having a therapeutic agent preparation held therein;
• ingesting by the patient of the swallowable capsule;
• passing the capsule through an initial portion of the patient's gastrointestinal (GI) tract while maintaining the therapeutic agent preparation therein;
• igniting a combustible propellant within the capsule in response to an external condition within the GI tract;
• and
• injecting, by the ignited propellant, the therapeutic agent from the capsule into a wall of the GI tract.

A swallowable device for delivering a therapeutic agent preparation into an antral wall of a patient's stomach, the device comprising:

• a capsule sized to pass through the patient's gastrointestinal tract, the capsule having a wall including opposed side portions and opposed end portions, the capsule having an elongated shape and being configured to longitudinally orient within the stomach at the antral wall during a peristaltic contraction of the stomach such that a side portion of the capsule wall is adjacent a wall of the antrum;
• a therapeutic preparation in the capsule, the preparation comprising a therapeutic agent and shaped as a tissue-penetrating member;
• a sensor disposed in a side wall portion of the capsule wall, the sensor configured to sense a condition external to the capsule and generate an electrical output in response to sensing an external condition corresponding to a peristaltic contraction of the stomach;
• an ejector operatively coupled to the tissue-penetrating member and responsive to the output from the sensor, the ejector configured to trigger combustion of a propellant to eject the tissue-penetrating member through the capsule into the antral wall;
• and
• a logic circuit configured to analyze the electrical output from the sensor and generate a trigger signal when a change in the external condition is detected.