Robert Langer: Pioneering Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

This podcast episode features a conversation with Robert Langer, a highly cited MIT professor specializing in biotechnology, particularly in drug delivery systems and tissue engineering. Langer shares insights into his career, emphasizing the role of both serendipity and persistence in scientific discovery, and the importance of pursuing 'big ideas' rather than incremental ones. He recounts early rejections from prestigious journals like Nature and Science, highlighting the emotional toll but also the learning process involved in refining and re-presenting groundbreaking work. His foundational research with Judah Folkman on isolating substances to inhibit blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) laid the groundwork for major cancer treatments like Avastin, demonstrating a long-term vision that took decades and billions of dollars to realize.

The discussion delves into the complexities of the human body and the challenges of pharmaceutical intervention. Langer explains drug delivery as precisely getting a drug to its target at the right level and safely, addressing hurdles like targeting specific cells, overcoming biological barriers (e.g., blood-brain barrier, oral insulin delivery), and developing 'smart' systems that respond to physiological signals. He differentiates between understanding fundamental mechanisms and serendipitous discoveries in drug development, noting that both play a role. The conversation also explores the potential for miniaturized, robotic-like drug delivery systems and the growing role of artificial intelligence in analyzing high-throughput screening data to predict and design new chemical substances.

Langer then transitions to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, defining it as building organs or tissues from scratch using scaffolds and various cell types, including stem cells. He highlights the success of engineered skin, already approved by the FDA for burn victims and diabetic ulcers, and mentions ongoing clinical trials for blood vessels, hearing, paralysis, and eye problems. The concept of 'organs on a chip' is introduced as a promising avenue for better drug testing and reducing animal experimentation, with future potential for integrated computational components.

Finally, the conversation touches upon the broader societal implications of pharmaceutical drugs. Langer acknowledges their immense contribution to increased life expectancy and quality, while also pointing out areas for improvement such as reducing costs, extending access to the developing world (through initiatives like the Gates Foundation), and continuing to develop better treatments for prevalent and rare diseases. He envisions a future where scientific advancements continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in medicine, from targeted therapies to regenerative solutions, despite the inherent complexity of biological systems.

I think magic can surprise you and you know and I think science can surprise you and there's something magical about about science.

nothing great I think is ever achieved without failure.

you feel to feel depressed that I felt the same way when I got grants rejected which I did a lot in the beginning.

do something big do something that really can change the world rather than something incremental.

the human body is exceptionally complicated and how the heck you can figure out anything is amazing.

if you cut off the blood supply you cut off the it's kind of like a war almost right you if you have if the nutrition is going to the tumor and you and you and you can cut it off I mean you starve the tumor and it becomes very small.

drug delivery is getting a drug to to be good to go where you want it at the level you want it in a safe way.

tissue engineering regenerative medicine have to do with building an organ or tissue from scratch.

skin has already been made and approved by the FDA.

I think that AI can be useful and a number of parts of the chain.

pharmaceutical drugs are really important I mean the life expectancy and life quality of people over many many years has increased tremendously.