Traditionally, surgery and radiotherapy have been the primary treatment, with anti-cancer drugs largely being used in metastatic cancers. Although chemotherapy has been successfully used for inhibiting cell growth over the last couple of decades, side-effects of chemotherapy have forced researchers to look for some alternative medications for all types of cancer.
With medications and therapies, the challenge with drug developers has been to effectively administer the drugs at the disease site in human body. To overcome this challenge, earlier while a majority of drugs were administered through injectable medium, the focus of drug manufacturers has currently shifted toward developing effective needle-free delivery systems, as driven by their patient-centric health care approach.
Strong emphasis of drug manufacturers on continuous improvements in cancer treatment has resulted in the development of novel drug delivery approaches, enabling targeted administration of drug compounds. While this growth will benefit all types of drug delivery mediums, oral and inhalers are expected to be among the leading gainers. Despite a strong growth in number of oral drug prescriptions, several injectable companies have invested to develop advanced product pipelines.
Over the next 5 years, although intravenous infusion drug delivery is expected to dominate the market, subcutaneous SC , intra-dermal, and intramuscular IM modes of drug delivery are expected to gain a strong market hold, as new products are likely to be launched from various companies. In addition to traditional oral and inhaler methods, research on some innovative delivery methods including nanogel and transdermal patches is also underway, and scientists are evaluating the bioavailability of drug compounds on target sites, when drug is delivered using these mediums.
Clinical effectiveness of these mediums will largely decide the market success of these new methods. Though significant advances have been made in the field of drug delivery, there are still a number of unmet needs of patients, offering ample opportunities to drug companies.
Researchers have devised various strategies to effectively deliver drug concentration on the target area; however, these strategies have witnessed limited success in clinical development phase. At present, there are a few clear unmet needs:. Furthermore, for all drug delivery mediums, bioavailability of the drug compound at the target site remains a key challenge.
However, the rate of the commercialization of these platforms developed by them is quite low, as they face several clinical hurdles and financial shortcomings. Large pharmaceutical companies have traditionally relied on their innovation partners to develop such technology platforms, and their strategic sourcing models have been preferred by them rather than developing these platforms on their own.
For example, Celgene signed partnership with Presage Bioscience to use its Arrayed Microinjections platform. Similarly, Amgen signed a contract with Unilife, to use its wearable injectable technology for its oncology drugs. Other pharma giants including Pfizer, Novartis, and Merck have also signed exclusive deals with such boutique research firms.
Some large pharma companies are also funding academic research program to get access to such technology innovations. A few large pharma have also adopted the strategy of supporting academic research projects to get access to innovations. Overall, there have been relatively limited efforts from big pharma to invest in in-house drug delivery technology innovation. A majority of technology developments are influenced by a gradual shift in cancer treatment sites— from exclusive healthcare center setting to self-administer therapy in home health care setting.
While researchers have highlighted and demonstrated the use of nano-particles to safely deliver and release the drug compound at the tumor site, commercial application of these methods in clinical settings remains to be effectively demonstrated. In the near future, this technology will enable physicians to apply fewer procedures at a similar site which typically leads to chemo-resistance in cancer patients—a key reason of failure of a majority of drug therapies.
From commercial point of view, a gradual shift from injectable to oral drug in short-term and other drug delivery mediums in long term is expected. However, adoption and commercial success of these drug delivery mediums will largely depend on their capability to overcome the existing challenges.
Below are some of the breakthrough innovations:. Over the last decade, the focus of researchers has been to develop injectable products with self- administration capability to enable anytime home healthcare. On the same concept, wearable injectors have been developed, with capability to deliver large volume of drug compound.
A couple of drug manufacturers including Amgen and Roche have started using these wearable injectors solutions for their products Neulasta Onpro and Herceptin SC, respectively. Nanogel or Nano Drug Delivery Vehicles for cancer drug carriers has been one of the most highlighted and well accepted research topics on account of its ability to absorb and carry wide variety of compounds.
Although there have been significant developments on this front, bioavailability of drugs has not been satisfactory in all the cases. Hence, physicians prefer injectable for faster recovery. If nano-drug delivery is proven to be successful, then oral forms of drugs can become more effective.
Furthermore, designing of nanoparticles using computation modeling has shown some strong promises and is another opportunity area for innovation.
A number of research activities are being carried out using computation modeling on to simulate the distribution of drugs and nano-materials. So far, there have been a few moderately successful commercialization efforts on this front. Based on commercial outcomes so far, Nano-material based drug delivery systems are poised for strong growth over the next 3 to 5 years.
Arrayed Microinjection is another interesting approach, which holds significant potential in oncology treatment on account of its capability of effectively deliver drug compound on targeted cells. Presage Bioscience has been successful in depicting use of microinjection platform technology in oncology dosing and it has got a patent for its device based on arrayed microinjection technique and quantitative analysis methodology.
The platform enables placement of multiple drug column directly on the tumor site. This allows the physicians to directly access the result of multiple drug compounds on tumor cells without being worried about bioavailability, metabolism, and excretion issues.
The platform is being used and tested in various clinical conditions. Early results in clinical settings from the platforms have been successful, and the company has already signed strategic partnerships with Celgene and Takeda pharmaceuticals. Implantable drug release platform for intravesical drug delivery is another emerging approach. Currently, Breakthrough pain BTP or severe pain, in cancer patients is targeted through intra-nasal route of drug administration.
Some drugs such as Fentanyl and Lazanda , which are using intra-nasal routes have been found to be efficacious in cancer patients. Moreover, research efforts are focused on developing nano-particle based drugs to be delivered using intra-nasal drug medium, with lung cancer and brain tumor being the key disease targets.
Transdermal patch is another drug administration route being explored by researchers for anti-cancer compounds. Though use of transdermal patch for drug delivery is not a new concept, its clinical potential and effectiveness in case of anticancer agents is still being assessed.
Currently, transdermal patches are being used in treating side-effects of anti-cancer drugs. Skin cancer and cancer vaccines are some areas, wherein drug delivery through transdermal patches is likely to have a huge opportunity. Overall, a strong transformation from injectable toward other drug delivery mediums is anticipated, driven by increasing emphasis on improving efficacy of anti-cancer agents, reducing side-effects and adopting patient-centric home healthcare approach.
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