Hopes raised for once-a-week pills for range of conditions

Exclusive: Technology developed for new type of contraceptive pill could be applied to other medicines

New technology that allows for daily medications to instead be taken just once a week or month could transform the lives of people with conditions ranging from schizophrenia to opioid addiction, researchers have said.

The method has also been developed for a new type of contraceptive pill - a capsule, initially tested in pigs, that dissolves in the stomach to release a six-armed structure that delivers synthetic hormones over three weeks before falling apart and exiting the body.