Injectable Drug Delivery

User-friendly syringe and injection device designs and the availability of an increasing number of drugs in pre-filled insertable and disposable cartridges are propelling the growth of prefilled syringes for self-administration. .......more

User-friendly designs and the availability of an increasing number of drugs in pre-filled disposable cartridges and syringes are propelling the growth of injector pens at the expense of other drug delivery methods such as traditional syringes ......more

New materials and innovative designs have led to improved safety syringe products and more competitive price points. Safety syringes will continue to grow at the expense of traditional syringes driven by regulatory initiatives to reduce .........more     

Advances in drug formulation and needle-free injector (NFI) device design are creating new opportunities for injectable drug delivery. User-friendly injectors that can be prefilled or accept drug cartridges are attempting to address one of the major drawbacks of earlier NFI devices. Much of the interest in  .......more

factors are giving rise to a new generation of sophisticated, application-specific disposable injection devices designed to satisfy caregiver and patient preferences while addressing managed care initiatives and the limitations of new classes of  .......more

Within the injectable segment, the sands are shifting as several factors converge to drive demand for delivery methods that increase safety, compliance and ease-of-use. While the economics of traditional disposable syringe devices remain compelling, a number of companies are combining synthetic materials .....more

The inherent instability of biological drugs is a limitation that has a direct impact on the drug delivery sector. Therapeutic proteins must either be stored under special conditions or formulated to retain their efficacy from the time of manufacture until they are dispensed. Liquid protein drugs require refrigeration until dispensed – a distribution strategy... more

The administration of therapeutic drugs via injection is an indispensable delivery method for numerous drugs critical to patient health and well-being. Now this segment is evolving in response to changing patient populations, new classes of powerful therapeutic drugs and healthcare....more   

The ability to formulate injectable drugs to increase the duration of efficacy for a given dose and simultaneously reduce the dosing frequency addresses several important health care issues. Less frequent dosing is believed to improve patient safety, reduce the incidence of injection site complications and improve ....more

  Inhaled Drug Delivery

Advances in drug formulation and inhalation device design are creating new opportunities for inhaled drug delivery as an alternative to oral and parenteral delivery methods. Much of the interest in pulmonary delivery of systemic drug therapies is focused on chronic diseases and refractory conditions that require  .......more

The convergence of socioeconomic and technology factors – the growing emphasis on drug self-administration for chronic conditions, the expected acceleration in protein- and peptide-based therapeutics, the availability of innovative dry powder inhalation devices with unique device designs - is driving .......more

Delivering drugs to the central nervous system presents unique challenges. But, drug developers and researchers have discovered that delivering CNS therapeutic drugs via inhalation mitigates several of these issues. The accessibility and vascular structure of the nose make it an attractive route for ......more

Combination inhalers are relied upon by 300 million worldwide for the treatment of debilitating and life-threatening respiratory conditions. For the majority of these patients, the device in their pockets, purses, and cabinets has been and is the metered dose inhaler. Metered dose inhalers have gone through........more

Because it has the potential to improve drug therapy compliance, inhaled pain drug delivery addresses a key healthcare issue – one that is particularly problematic in aging populations and developing economies. Several of these ....more

Much of the interest in pulmonary delivery of systemic drug therapies is focused on chronic diseases and refractory conditions – aliments that require frequent drug administration for a protracted period of time. The role of device design and development ,,,,more

  Transdermal Drug Delivery

Transdermal drug patches offer the advantages of ease of use, painlessness, disposability, control of drug delivery and avoidance of first-pass metabolism by the liver. New patch designs and formulation technologies are expanding the type and number of prescription therapies .......more

Currently approved transdermal pain products include narcotics, NSAIDs, and topical anesthetics. These patches and gels will encounter competition from development-stage transdermal formulations for a number of pain medications presently being marketed in oral or parenteral form. Several of these... more

Growth of transdermal delivery has been restricted by the need to limit candidate drugs to molecules small enough to passively migrate through the stratum corneum, a limitation that excludes passive transdermal patches as a viable option for the growing number of protein and peptide therapeutic compounds that ..more

Advances in the processing of materials on a micro-scale have led to the development and introduction of devices that employ very small needles – microneedles – that  have significant potential in devices for diagnostics, healthcare monitoring and drug delivery by mechanically ........more

To expand the limits of transdermal drug delivery, developers are employing microporation techniques and energy sources such as ultrasound, heat and electrical current to affect active transport through the skin. These techniques can increase the upper molecular size limit dramatically........more

Advances in synthetic materials and skin patch designs have led to transdermal drug delivery products that are more esthetically acceptable and that are capable of delivering sustained dosing of active compounds for several days in a smaller package. Transdermal delivery products include gels, patches and active systems......more

Unlike several other disease segments, progress toward curative medicine for neurological and related central nervous system disorders has remained elusive. The result is a therapeutic segment that relies heavily on control of symptoms and palliative care. This disappointing picture is being exacerbated by disease trends that are increasing the morbidity and mortality associated with CNS ailments in the general....more

As life expectancy in the developed world increases and populations age, the incidence and associated morbidity of decreasing hormone levels have come to the forefront as a quality-of-life issue for patients and their families. For the past two decades....more

  Specialty Drug Delivery

While the ability of recombinant protein drugs to treat previously refractory conditions continues to generate excitement and investment, the complex structure of these therapeutic substances require special formulation and delivery strategies, creating special challenges for drug developers and their formulation tech ........more

Recent recognition and industry acceptance of the unique therapeutic needs of pediatric patients has led to regulatory activity and development programs that are re-defining this market segment. The result has been a push by developers and formulators emphasizing  the creation of formulations engineered  ........more

surface property optimization and solubility enhancement are enabling the creation of new formulations of both new and existing compounds. These technologies can enhance key properties such as compound solubility or bioavailability - salvaging promising NCEs that would otherwise .......more

Advances in nanotechnology that enable drugs to be delivered in ways that preserve their efficacy and to precise therapeutic targets are creating a host of opportunities for drug developers. A variety of nanostructures are being investigated as functional drug carriers for a wide range of .......more

Application-specific drug delivery devices designed to satisfy caregiver and patient preferences while addressing managed care initiatives and the limitations of new classes of therapeutic drugs. User-friendly designs and the availability of an increasing number of drug combination products are propelling ........more

Controlled release technologies can modulate drug release profiles to achieve dosing that enhances patient compliance, outcomes and safety. Growth in controlled release formulations is being driven in part by the rapid increase in genetic drugs that..... more   

In terms of the range of formulation strategies and delivery technologies in the pipeline, alternative insulin delivery products currently in the pipeline represent the most diverse population of drug candidates of any prescription drug. Each of these development-stage insulin products will be competing.... more

In their search for alternative delivery methods that will enhance compliance and improve safety, drug developers and researchers are discovering that the permeability of mucous membranes provides a convenient route for the systemic delivery of new and existing therapeutic drugs. Transmucosal delivery, either buccal or sublingual, via oral drug sprays offers the potential... more

For caregivers and their patients, the therapeutic area that is at the forefront of attempts to mitigate exposure to cytotoxic drugs is clinical oncology, a field that – in spite of promising new drugs based on therapeutic antibodies – continues to rely heavily on antineoplastics, a class that includes ....more   

 Targeting drugs to the cellular level is expected to minimize drug side effects, expand their use and improve patient outcomes. Patient compliance remains a major obstacle to improving the clinical outcomes of efficacious drugs. While a number of factors ....more