Technology Is the Key to Future Drug Delivery

There is growing market potential for the integration of electronic functionality into devices that will improve patient outcomes, says a report issued by Cambridge Consultants.

The report, “2020: A New Drug Delivery Landscape,” provides a summary of the proceedings of two workshops that were hosted by Cambridge Consultants and attended by drug delivery experts and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, including those from big companies such as Astra Zeneca, Novartis and GSK and smaller drug delivery start-ups.

The workshops focused on the critical issues and opportunities that will influence the drug delivery market in the next 10 years and were held in Leicestershire, UK, and Boston, USA in April 2009.

According to the report’s findings, devices with advanced electronic functionality are expected to take an increasing share of the systemic delivery market in the next few years, and thus constitute a major growth opportunity for innovative companies. One perspective, particularly prevalent in the US, is that complex electronic technologies are maturing and enabling regulators and pharmaceutical companies to gain the required level of confidence in these systems, which is needed for broad acceptance in the market place.

Delegates based in Europe pointed to increasing regulation surrounding waste and environmental impact. Issues such as battery and microelectronics disposal will require specific measures if they are not to impede the proliferation of advanced devices.

Andrew Diston, Global Medtech Practice Leader at Cambridge Consultants, said, “The world of pharmaceutical delivery is poised to realise many of the benefits of technological advances from other industries, where standards are reaching towards the requirements for medical applications. These workshops identified much optimism in the market. Reliable microelectronics platforms may provide significant additional functionality and connectivity for new delivery devices, providing great opportunities for innovative pharma companies and new start ups alike to play a part in this healthcare revolution.”

Delegates also observed that although there is currently a severe shortage in investment capital to fund innovation, the bigger picture for the long term is more hopeful. Andrew Diston adds, “Governments in Europe and the US are carefully considering the impact of an ageing population and increasing chronic disease on the future cost of healthcare. The result of this will be a renewed effort to make healthcare expenditure go further, which will mean a renewed focus on efficient systems that deliver better patient outcomes. The future leaders in this new market may be those companies that capitalise on the opportunity to significantly improve patient outcomes through enhanced device functionality.”

For a full copy of the free drug delivery workshop 2009 report, “2020: A New Drug Delivery Landscape, click here

Tags: Cambridge Consultants, Drug delivery