Treatment of a disease of the gastrointestinal tract with a SMAD7 inhibitor

1. A method of treating ulcerative colitis in a subject, the method comprising:

orally administering to the subject an ingestible device comprising:

an ingestible housing comprising a reservoir, the reservoir containing a pharmaceutical formulation comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a SMAD7 inhibitor;

a release mechanism having a closed state wherein the pharmaceutical formulation is retained in the reservoir and an open state which allows for the release of the pharmaceutical formulation from the reservoir to the exterior of the ingestible device;

an actuator which controls the transition of the release mechanism from the closed state to the open state;

a light source configured to produce light that interacts with the subject's gastrointestinal (GI) tract to provide light reflectance;

a detector configured to detect the light reflectance to detect the GI tract; and

a processor coupled to the detector and to the actuator, wherein the processor triggers the actuator to cause the release mechanism to transition from the closed state to the open state when the ingestible device is located in the cecum based on the detected light reflectance, wherein the cecum has been predetermined to be proximal to one or more disease sites,

thereby releasing the pharmaceutical formulation comprising the SMAD7 inhibitor from the ingestible device when the ingestible device is located in the cecum of the subject.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more disease sites is in the colon.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ingestible device further comprises one or more machine-readable hardware storage devices that stores instructions that are executable by the processor to determine that the ingestible device is in the cecum of the subject to an accuracy of at least 70%.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises determining the location of the ingestible device in the cecum of the subject to an accuracy of at least 85%.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detected reflectance autonomously triggers the release of the pharmaceutical formulation comprising the SMAD7 inhibitor from the ingestible device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detected reflectance comprises light of at least two different wavelengths.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the location of the ingestible device in the cecum comprises detecting a transition of the ingestible device from the ileum to the cecum.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein detecting the transition of the ingestible device from the ileum to the cecum comprises detecting a change in the ratio of reflected red light to reflected green light.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein detecting the transition of the ingestible device from the ileum to the cecum further comprises detecting a change in the ratio of reflected green light to reflected blue light.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ingestible device comprises a gas generating cell located within the housing, wherein the gas generating cell is capable of generating a gas; and the ingestible device is configured so that, when the gas generating cell generates the gas, the pharmaceutical formulation comprising the SMAD7 inhibitor exits the ingestible device via an opening in the ingestible device.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the ingestible device further comprises a membrane configured so that, when the gas generating cell generates the gas, the gas moves the membrane to force the pharmaceutical formulation comprising the SMAD7 inhibitor out of the ingestible device via the opening.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the gas generating cell is configured to cause an internal pressure within the housing when the gas generating cell generates the gas.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the ingestible device comprises a safety device placed within or attached to the housing, wherein the safety device is configured to relieve the internal pressure within the housing when the internal pressure exceeds a threshold level.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising releasing the pharmaceutical formulation comprising the SMAD7 inhibitor to the cecum as a bolus.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the level of SMAD7 inhibitor in the plasma of the subject following the oral administration of the ingestible device, wherein the level of SMAD7 inhibitor is lower than the level of the SMAD7 inhibitor in the plasma of a subject at substantially the same time point following systemic administration of an equal amount of the SMAD7 inhibitor.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein releasing the SMAD7 inhibitor from the ingestible device is not dependent on pH, enzymatic activity or bacterial activity at or in the vicinity of the predetermined location.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is selected from GED-0301, and modifications thereof having at least 90% sequence homology.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is GED-0301.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is an inhibitory nucleic acid that decreases expression of a SMAD7.

20. The method of 1 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is an antisense nucleic acid that decreases expression of a SMAD7.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the antisense nucleic acid molecule has a nucleotide sequence that is complementary to all or part of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 1-5.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is a small interfering RNA that decreases expression of a SMAD7.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SMAD7 inhibitor is a microRNA that decreases expression of a SMAD7.