Browse Topic: Pharmaceuticals
Ultrasound imaging and ultrasound-mediated gene and drug delivery are rapidly advancing diagnostic and therapeutic methods; however, their use is often limited by the need for microbubbles, which cannot transverse many biological barriers due to their large size. A team of researchers from Rice University have introduced 50-nm gas-filled protein nanostructures derived from genetically engineered gas vesicles(GVs) that are referred to as 50 nmGVs
Advances in IoT and electronic technology are enabling more personalized, continuous medical care. People with medical conditions that require a high degree of monitoring and continuous medication infusion can now take advantage of wearable medicine injection devices to treat their problems. Wireless communication allows medical personnel to monitor and adjust the amount and flow rate of an individual’s medication. The small size of the injectors enables the individual to be active and not be burdened or limited by a line-powered instrument (see Figure 1
Just as a business needs an effective and reliable service to deliver its goods to customers, medications need an effective delivery system to get them to the specific area of the body where they can have an impact
University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY
The changing regulatory landscape and innovation of medical products is driving an interest in additional options for medical product sterilization. One nontraditional way manufacturers can sterilize medical products that is becoming increasingly popular is with sterilizers that use vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VH2O2). The publication of ISO 22441:2022 and its recognition by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), coupled with the FDA’s reclassification of VH2O2 sterilization as an Established Category A process in 2024, supports this modality of sterilization
The administration of high-dose biologics presents unique challenges and opportunities for the devel opment of drug-delivery systems. With the advent of innovative reusable drug-delivery devices, the landscape of patient adherence and comfort is evolving significantly. These advanced devices are designed to handle higher concentrations and viscosities of therapeutic drugs, allowing for new routes of administration that can be managed by patients themselves at home
Scientists have taken a significant step toward the development of tailor-made chiral nanocarriers with controllable release properties. These nanocarriers, inspired by nature’s helical molecules like DNA and proteins, hold immense potential for targeted drug delivery and other biomedical applications
Conventional drug delivery is often like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Whether the drug is swallowed, injected, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, it ultimately diffuses to most parts of the body, including those where it isn’t needed — or where it even might cause harm
Implants that steadily release the right dose of a drug directly to the target part of the body have been a major advance in drug delivery. However, they still face some key challenges, such as ensuring that the drug is released at a constant rate from the moment it is implanted and ensuring that the implant is soft and flexible enough to avoid tissue damage but tough enough not to rupture. One particular challenge is to avoid triggering the foreign body response, which is when the patient’s body encloses the implant in a tight capsule of tough connective tissue which can slow the drug’s release or prevent it from diffusing out
Contract design and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) play an increasingly crucial role in the pharmaceutical supply chain, providing the necessary capabilities and capacity to meet growing patient demand. The recent emergence of GLP-1 class drugs only emphasizes the importance of CDMOs, which con- tribute significant expertise related to fill-finish operations, secondary packaging, and distribution
Chocolate-flavored pills for children who hate taking medicine. Several drugs combined into one daily pill for seniors who have trouble remembering to take their medications. Drugs printed at your local pharmacy at personalized dosages that best suit your health needs. These are just a few potential advantages of 3D drug printing, a new system for manufacturing drugs and treatments on-site at pharmacies, healthcare facilities, and other remote locations
If an external force with changing amplitude acts on an elastic medium such as a gas, a liquid or a solid, an undulating propagation of pressure and density fluctuation occurs in space and time, starting from the point where the force is applied. This is known as sound. The frequency of sound waves ranges from a few hertz (Hz) up to several gigahertz (see Figure 1). Infrasound, the sound humans cannot hear, lies at frequencies below 16 Hz. It is followed by the hearing range, which reaches up to 20 kHz. Ultrasonic waves, which cannot be heard, lie in the frequency range from 20 kHz to 1.6 GHz, which equals 16 billion cycles per second. A prominent application example in medical technology is the use of ultrasound for diagnostic imaging techniques. In industry and research, ultrasound is mainly used in measurement technology, where sound waves with low power are used. The intensity of the sound describes the power that hits a certain surface. If it exceeds 10 W/cm2, we speak of power
A new report from Clarivate Plc, London, UK, offers a predictive analysis of high-growth medical technology markets poised to generate over $1 billion in value or achieve double-digit growth within the next five years. The report, “Medical Technologies to Watch in 2024” underscores critical areas of significant investment. Medtech analysts pinpoint five technologies driving substantial clinical and commercial value in devices and diagnostics this year. These innovations hold immense promise for patients, potentially complementing or even supplanting traditional medications and biochemical solutions. Analysts are optimistic that 2024 will bring a more favorable economic climate for medtech competitors, noting that the macro trends remain positive
In a study published in Advanced Materials, researchers Pietro Veglianese, Valeria Veneruso and Emilia Petillo from Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS in collaboration with Filippo Rossi of the Politecnico di Milano have demonstrated that an innovative nanovector (nanogel), which they developed, is able to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs in a targeted manner into glial cells actively involved in the evolution of spinal cord injury, a condition that leads to paraplegia or quadriplegia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists created a new drug-delivery system, called the Spatiotemporal On-Demand Patch (SOP), which can receive commands wirelessly from a smartphone or computer to schedule and trigger the release of drugs from individual microneedles. The patch’s thin, soft platform resembles a Band-Aid and was designed to enhance user comfort and convenience, since wearability is a crucial factor for chronically ill patients
Researchers have been pursuing the development of robots so tiny that they can maneuver through blood vessels and deliver medications to certain points in the body. Now, scientists have succeeded in building such micromachines out of metal and plastic in which these two materials are interlocked as closely as links in a chain. This is possible thanks to a new manufacturing technique they have devised
“Soft robots,” medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism — thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany
The process of manufacturing high-quality and reliable balloon catheters is critical to a number of advanced medical treatments for patients including balloon angioplasty, stent and drug delivery, transcatheter aortic valve implantation, atherectomy, renal denervation, and laser balloon angioplasty. These minimally invasive procedures have vastly improved quality of life, increased patient safety, decreased recovery times, and lowered treatment costs for patients around the globe
Researchers have developed an integrated microfluidic chip (BSI-AST chip) for rapid AST from positive blood cultures (PBCs). Using the chip, the process from bacteria extraction to getting AST results takes less than 3.5 hours, thus promising to be a powerful new tool in managing bloodstream infections
Researchers developed a chemical sensing chip that could lead to handheld devices that detect trace chemicals — everything from illicit drugs to pollution — as quickly as a breathalyzer identifies alcohol. It also may have uses in food safety monitoring, anti-counterfeiting, and other fields where trace chemicals are analyzed
Research teams have created an entirely new kind of drug-delivery system to give doctors the ability to treat cancer in a more targeted way. The system employs drugs that are activated by ultrasound — and only right where they are needed in the body
Product traceability is an increasingly dominant concern in healthcare, partly due to regulations like the FDA’s Unique Device Identification (UDI) Rule for medical devices and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) for pharmaceutical products. Widespread disruptions since 2020 have also exposed critical supply-chain vulnerabilities caused, in part, by a lack of visibility — with negative consequences reaching all the way to the point of care, further underlining the need for change
Therapy developers are being asked to consider ways to deliver drugs for a longer time period with a single dose. This has spurred innovation in both the oral and parenteral spaces, but the greatest potential for long-acting delivery remains in implantable systems. Because of this, growth for the global implantable drug-delivery market is forecast at 10 percent annually in coming years with an expectation for the market to reach nearly $30 billion (USD) by 2025.1 Contraceptive, ophthalmic, cardiovascular, diabetes, oncology, and autoimmune disease applications are all likely to focus on development of these therapeutic forms
Inspired by sutures developed thousands of years ago, engineers have designed “smart” sutures that can not only hold tissue in place, but also detect inflammation and release drugs
As we age, our bodies change and degenerate over time in a process called senescence. Stem cells, which have the unique ability to change into other cell types, also experience senescence, which presents an issue when trying to maintain cell cultures for therapeutic use. The biomolecules produced by these cell cultures are important for various medicines and treatments, but once the cells enter a senescent state they stop producing them, and worse, they instead produce biomolecules antagonistic to these therapeutics
Funded by Innovate UK’s Transforming Medicines Manufacturing program, with a grant of £10 million ($12.6 million) over three years, a new center will provide a single point of entry for drug discovery and development innovators to access new capabilities in intracellular drug delivery
Schreiner MediPharm, a Germany-based provider of innovative functional label solutions for the healthcare industry, has partnered with SCHOTT Pharma, a specialist in drug-containment and -delivery solutions for medications, to develop a solution to equip prefilled syringes with RFID. Among other applications, the combination syringe and smart label opens broad opportunities to optimize hospital routines
Huge libraries of drug compounds may hold potential treatments for a variety of diseases, such as cancer or heart disease. Ideally, scientists would like to experimentally test each of these compounds against all possible targets but doing that kind of screen is prohibitively time consuming
A proven and effective medication for osteoporosis, which is currently only available as an injection, can be administered orally using a novel “robotic pill,” according to a study presented at ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, IL
With the help of an AI, researchers have succeeded in designing synthetic DNA that controls the cells’ protein production. The technology can contribute to the development and production of vaccines, drugs for severe diseases, as well as alternative food proteins much faster and at significantly lower costs than today
A bionic pancreas — a wearable, pocket-sized, automated insulin delivery device — that was first developed in a Boston University lab has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The iLet Bionic Pancreas is now commercially available, bringing fresh hope to the almost two million Americans with type 1 diabetes
A team of scientists — led by Yamin Zhang, PhD, and Colin Franz, MD, PhD, at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and John Rogers, PhD, at Northwestern University — has developed novel technology with the potential to change the future of drug delivery
Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) has long shaped product development across a variety of areas, including the medtech industry. Use of these trends can significantly improve diagnostics and, therefore, treatment. This applies, for example, to surgery and to the adjustment of medication regimens to reflect the patient’s needs. To do this, medical practitioners use recommendations provided by AI, which in turn draws on a broad digital database
A team of engineers has designed a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds — and may one day even deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body
Corneal grafts may be more successful by using nanoparticles to encapsulate the medication. The novel approach could also significantly improve patient compliance
A synthetic biosensor that mimics properties found in cell membranes and provides an electronic readout of activity could lead to a better understanding of cell biology, development of new drugs, and the creation of sensory organs on a chip capable of detecting chemicals, similar to how noses and tongues work
Microfluidic devices are compact testing tools made up of tiny channels carved on a chip, which allow biomedical researchers to test the properties of liquids, particles, and cells at a microscale. They are crucial to drug development, diagnostic testing, and medical research in areas such as cancer, diabetes and now COVID-19. However, the production of these devices is very labor intensive, with minute channels and wells that often need to be manually etched or molded into a transparent resin chip for testing. While 3D printing has offered many advantages for biomedical device manufacturing, its techniques were previously not sensitive enough to build layers with the minute detail required for microfluidic devices. Until now
Researchers have developed a smart contact lens by combining an IOP sensor and a flexible drug-delivery system to manage IOP measurement and medication administration. The wireless theranostic smart contact lens monitors and controls intraocular pressure in glaucoma
For some of the powerful drugs used to fight infection and cancer, there’s only a small difference between a healing dose and a dose that’s large enough to cause dangerous side effects. But predicting that margin is a persistent challenge because different people react differently to medications — even to the same dose
Rapid socio-economic development and technological advancement has made the hazardous chemical components of end-of-life electronics waste (e-waste) an imminent challenge. Conventional extraction methods rely on energy-intensive processes and are inefficient when applied to recycling e-waste or waste streams that contain mixed materials and small amounts of metals. NASA Ames Research Center has developed an inexpensive biological approach to removing or adsorbing a target substance or material, for example a metal, non-metal toxin, dye, or small molecule drug, from solution
The healthcare supply chain has faced extraordinary challenges over the past few years, and a need for modernization has become apparent. Today, the supply chain is ready for a major upgrade that will drive operational improvements across the industry, while providing safer, better patient care. The manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products can lead the way by prioritizing adoption and implementation of data standards that enable industry stakeholders to share supply chain information in real time. When the standards are adopted by all healthcare trading partners, including wholesaler/distributors and healthcare providers, a dramatic, technology-enabled transformation will unfold
Made-to-order footwear, clothing, and jewelry. Patient-specific replacement joints and medication tailored to their age and weight. Bespoke bicycles, and office chairs that fit like the proverbial glove. These are just a few examples of the customized or personalized products that consumers have come to demand in recent years. How are manufacturers able to fulfill these expectations? In addition, how can they keep the final price from being driven upward by the immense complexity and supply chain disruption that product customization should cause
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