There has been a surge in the number of combination product (i.e. where a drug product is combined with a medical device) launches in recent years and this trend is set to continue as more companies seek to extend the life of existing branded medicines. According to analysts, the combination product market is currently worth 8 billion Euros and will grow by a staggering 40% during the next 3 years. Read more »

I have just returned from an event in France which, I have to say, really impressed me. Not because I had the perfect excuse to visit Paris for a couple of days (although that was undoubtedly a bonus), but because I was so impressed by the calibre of presentations and new innovations that were showcased from this relatively small meeting. Read more »

Art imitates life, and sometimes drug-delivery mechanisms do, too. Scientists often draw inspiration from natural agents and the body’s processes when developing carriers for therapies. Synthetic red blood cells are a new product of this strategy that seems to raise new possibilities in drug delivery. Read more »

Despite, or because of, economic difficulties and meager pipelines, the recent past has seen many drug companies investigate alternative delivery methods for new and established products. A new deal between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, London) and Intercell (Vienna) reflects this trend and raises hopes for the development of innovative routes of administration. Read more »

When pipelines run dry, pharmaceutical companies are more likely to investigate alternative delivery methods as a way of distinguishing their drugs in the marketplace. In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed several intriguing delivery methods created by researchers around the world. I recently wrote about the new technique of encapsulating medicines in magnetite nanoparticles for repeated, long-term delivery. Along similar lines, scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have created “micro shuttles” that can be loaded with drugs and opened remotely. Read more »

Last week, I wrote that the increased attention to biological drugs, which are mostly taken through injections, was spurring interest in needle-free and implantable delivery methods for vaccines. Research into alternative delivery methods for vaccines could produce innovative ways of delivering other kinds of drugs as well, and I recently read about an inspired idea that a team of Boston researchers had for delivering intermittent doses of drugs. Read more »

Have you ever considered getting a flu shot but quailed at the sight of the needle? Lots of people hate getting injections, but this delivery method is still the predominant technique for administering biological drugs. Rising demand for vaccines and other biologicals is one factor spurring manufacturers to seek alternative delivery methods that could one day rescue the needlephobic. Read more »

A formulation that can sustain the delivery of a drug and reduce the frequency of doses by itself contributes to improved patient compliance. But when sustained delivery of this formulation is coupled with organ-specific delivery by means of innovative combination products, the benefits to patients are even greater. Read more »

As if I needed another reason to believe diamonds can make a person feel better: Researchers at Northwestern University are using carbon-based nanodiamonds to slowly deliver and release tightly bound insulin (acting as a growth hormone to generate new skin cells) to a specific location to fight infection and heal wounds such as those from severe burns. Researchers also showed the insulin was virtually inactive while it was bound to the nanodiamonds, thereby preventing excess drug release. Read more »

Prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers and the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, according to the American Cancer Society. So far, treatments for prostate cancer include drugs that affect the entire body, instead of only cancer cells. Work by a team of researchers at Purdue University offers hope they have found a new method of not only finding and targeting these cancer cells, but also carry therapeutic drugs directly to the site of infection. Read more »