One might be wondering how nanotechnology can be applied to the manufacturing of drugs, and how it enhances current methods of delivery. In a nutshell, the emergence of such applications is derived from 2 parts; which is 3D printing in drugs, followed by the application of nanotechnology in the engineering of drug particles.
Printing on a three-dimensional scale has got to be one of the most revolutionary technologies of the 21st century. It inspired professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs and even DIY enthusiasts to transform virtual ideas into physical objects. Only recently the scope of 3D printing has ventured into healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
History of Additive Manufacturing
The first patent relating to 3D printing technology was filed by Dr. Hideo Kodama in 1980 of the Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute. In 1986, Chuck Hull invents the stereolithography apparatus that creates objects layer by layer where lasers selectively cause chains of molecules to link together, forming polymers.
In 1987 Carl Deckard pioneered an alternative method that turns loose powder into a solid (as opposed to Chuck Hall’s liquid resin process). It wasn’t until 1989 when inventors Scott and Lisa Crump invents the additive manufacturing method of Fused Deposition Modeling that is widely commercialized today, where filaments are melted and deposited onto a substrate, layer by layer to create a 3D object.
Applications in Healthcare
Fast forward to 1999, the use of 3D printed organs in surgery becomes a reality when a fully ‘grown’ urinary bladder was successfully transplanted into a patient. This was achieved by growing cells into a biodegradable scaffold (a ‘mold’ of sorts based on CT scans). The cells were grown using a tissue sample taken from the patient’s bladder and layered onto the scaffold. And in 2008, the first prosthetic leg was 3D printed ‘as is’ without any additional assembly required.
It was only in August 2015 where the first 3D printed pill was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Introducing ‘Spritam’, developed by Aprecia Pharmaceuticals to control seizures brought on by epilepsy. While the original levetiracetam variants have been on the shelves for more than a decade, it had issues with solubility as those suffering from epilepsy would occasionally have difficulties in swallowing pills.
With Spritam, the pill was printed to be highly porous and it would disintegrate within the patient’s mouth when taken with water. In addition, Spritam had a premeasured, high-dosage medication; further increasing its efficacy.
Known Challenges in Drug Delivery
Until today, doctors and pharmacists are constantly addressing the various challenges related to drug delivery. Among them includes (and not limited to):
- Poor Solubility – Drugs consumed by patients often lack solubility, as each patient and case would vary based on their digestive and metabolic profile. Certain medications would need immediate action onto the target area, while some needs to be released slowly before exiting the system.
- Taste & Palatability – Although this is the predominant issue with pediatric and/or geriatric patients, more and more people are demanding medications with better taste to suit their palates.
- Drug Loading – Current methods for drug manufacturing are limited in terms of drug loaded per unit weight. This presents a burden for patients requiring high doses, which leads to higher intake of medication.
- Advanced Biologics – The demand for new and advanced ‘biomedicines’ such as proteins, peptides and DNA based therapeutics are increasing, and it cannot be effectively delivered by conventional means.
Nanotechnology Applied in Drug Printing
With the success of Spritam however, various sectors in the pharmaceutical industry are exploring how nanotechnology can be applied in drug printing and how it enhances current methods of drug delivery. The possibility of ‘printing’ drugs allows for medication to be packaged more precisely than ever before, with each type of medication being tailored for a specific symptom and therapy.
With nanotechnology applied in drug printing, scientists can now engineer particles with varying lattice structures.
For instance, a porous lattice would allow for high-dosage loading and immediate release while a tighter lattice allows for prolonged and sustained drug release. With custom latticework applied in the manufacturing process, we can also expect to see the emergence of the ‘poly-pill’, where combinations of medicine can be packaged into a single pill. This is particularly welcomed for patients having to take a lot of medications.
Additional benefits do apply in this case, as tens of thousands of tablets can be printed per day in a very small facility, no bigger than the average corporate office. The production volume is also high, with little processing constraints achieved at lower infrastructure costs. In years to come, we can expect the designer drug industry to come up with bespoke ‘personalized’ medicine with adjustable dosage and release profile.
Liquidia’s PRINT® Technology
Liquidia Technologies is currently developing a particle engineering platform that enables precise production of highly uniform drug particles. This platform would pave the way to produce highly uniform drug particles with independent control over their size, shape and chemical composition.
Therefore, with the PRINT® Technology, we can control physical and chemical parameters of drug particles. This enables us to engineer drugs and medications with all the desirable pharmacological benefits:
- Prolonged duration of drug release
- Increased drug loading
- Ability to create novel combination products
- Enhanced storage stability
- Potential to reduce adverse side effects
Liquidia is already advancing their own product candidates because of this technology, which is the LIQ861, for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and LIQ865, for local post-operative pain.
- LIQ861 enhances deep-lung delivery via a disposable palm-sized dry powder inhaler (DPI), maximizing the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil by delivering in higher doses
- LIQ865 is an injectable, sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for management of local post-operative pain for up to 3-5 days after a procedure
For more information, please feel free to contact us at xeraya@xeraya.com or visit our website www.xeraya.com
