Reflecting broader trends in the industry, a key driver of innovation in drug delivery will be patient-centered: to improve patient experiences as well as improve patient compliance.
But moving forward, sustainability is likely to take into account the growing focus for the industry.
Focus on the patient
In 2022, innovation in drug delivery in the pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow significantly: this is due to a number of factors, such as increasing attention to patient experience; transition to self-government throughout the pandemic; and a growing market for biologics, which presents more challenging delivery challenges.
“One consequence of the pandemic is that the innovation of new drug delivery devices – other than new injections – has been temporarily slowed, and when the industry returns to normal, we can expect new devices to grow by 2022,” Notes market research and Pharmapack Europe’s annual report for 2021.
“Significantly, future COVID vaccines will further increase the demand for injectable devices, and the pandemic has also clearly shown the benefits of both connected devices and devices used alone. We expect that innovation in devices will accelerate after the pandemic, and that device manufacturers and pharmaceuticals will increasingly work together to use them in conjunction with other digital assets (apps, phone, computer) ”.Taking care of
The pandemic has contributed to the trend toward self-management and patient experience teams, and real-world usability research is no longer an additional adjunct but an integral part of R&D.
“The pandemic has also changed perceptions and expectations regarding delivery settings, and now more and more people are involved in self-government. As this becomes the norm, companies will make the patient experience a central component of drug delivery design. Potentially with this trend – in conjunction with connected devices – there will also be the use of real-time data to ensure that patients ’treatment can be assessed over a longer period of time and allow for enhanced compliance.”Taking care of
Delivery of drugs in biologicsTaking care of
The market for biologics is growing: but such products are more difficult to produce, store and use than low-molecular-weight drugs.
Thus, it stimulates innovation in drug delivery to ensure that such complex products can be safely delivered to patients. In addition, drug delivery devices that provide a more comfortable experience and thus improve patient adherence may ultimately give the molecule to a competitor.
According to a survey of industry professionals conducted by Pharmapack, nasal injectors should be observed in biologics for the next five years. In fact, the market for portable injectors, which can supply large quantities of biologics, should grow by only $ 4 billion over the next three years, according to Technavio research.
Such devices are delivery systems that are adjacent to the body and can administer larger volumes of biologics subcutaneously over a longer period than when injected. Thus, high-viscosity high-viscosity drugs can be administered independently in preclinical settings.
Other key areas to look out for are high viscosity injectors; microneedles and new patches; Implanted devices, nasal inhalation devices, pen injectors and nanotechnology, according to the survey.
SustainabilityTaking care of
Sustainability must become an ever-increasing challenge for the pharmaceutical industry: and something that companies need to think about now if they want to move forward in the future.
“While sustainability is not high on the pharmaceutical industry’s agenda now, it is likely to become a more significant topic in drug delivery over the next decade.” Note Uri Baruch and Claire Beddos of the Cambridge Design Partnership, an innovation specialist who has worked in the field of drug delivery in biopharmaceuticals and cell and gene therapy.
“At the moment, there is no regulation aimed at the sustainability of drug delivery devices. However, as globally we aim to reach Net Zero in a few decades, it is unlikely that the pharmaceutical industry will be liberated and we will begin to see it flow down. For example, the NHS UK has stated that it intends to reach Net Zero by 2045, including supply chains. Given that drug delivery devices tend to have long product development cycles, we need to start thinking about this sooner rather than later. Taking care of
“There are reusable injectors on the market, but they inevitably add user steps. For example, the device needs to be retrieved, prepared, downloaded, cleaned, possibly charged, safely restored and so on. This is often seen, especially by clinicians, as reducing user experience and increasing the risk of user error. However, resilience is something that obviously becomes even more important when considering connected devices. Many companies are now offering to integrate digital devices into disposable devices, raising questions about how to deal with electronics waste – this could be a stimulus for innovation in the coming years.Taking care of
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