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February 28, 2008
Pharma Companies Integrate Innovative Drug Delivery Methods into Product Planning
Among the many challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry, patient compliance looms large as a post-launch difficulty in sustaining product sales. Compliance tends to be an ongoing issue, regardless of a product's efficacy. Often, patients that are initially won over by a treatment stop taking their medications shortly after visiting the doctor. The sad truth is, many patients simply find their dosage regimens to be too inconvenient or too painful.
Historically, treatment delivery channels have been little more than an afterthought for pharma. Develop a drug first, then determine an acceptable delivery channel, the process went. Now, though, realizing that dosage convenience and frequency plays a large role in the willingness of patients to stick to their treatment regimens, the industry has responded by developing products with patient compliance in mind. In the world of proteins, for example, many pharma and biotech companies - through partnerships with medical device innovators - are making the switch from traditional injections to alternative delivery methods like micro-needle patches, oral doses and nasal sprays. The idea is to improve ease of use without sacrificing a treatment's efficacy.
Many of the companies undertaking such new projects are small, but their concept would make big differences in patients' lives. Azaya Therapeutics, for one, is developing a compound using what is called Protein Stabilized Nanoparticle (PSN) technology. While I resist the urge to plug one of my favorite sci-fi movies, suffice to say that this technology aims to eliminate some of the dangerous side-effects associated with oncology drugs such as Sanofi Aventis's Taxotere (although if you're curious, the company does have an explanatory video about PSN on its website). By partnering with emerging companies like Azaya early on in product development, long-established pharma and biotech companies can position themselves to take full advantage of the newest drug delivery technologies.
Despite the exciting prospects of these new and more convenient delivery mechanisms, pharma still has a long way to go in making them palatable to patients. Pfizer's Exubera is one example of a failed attempt at a more patient-friendly delivery method. The potential was definitely there: a diabetes treatment in the form of an insulin nasal spray. No more pesky needles. Unfortunately the inhaler proved to be quite large and inconvenient to transport - some have described it as bulky. End result? The inhaler ended up being less attractive than the alternative of giving oneself a shot.
Though there are sure to be more bumps along the way, I am eager to see pharma's future efforts on the path to less painful, more convenient ways to take medication.
Posted by Haley Wynn at February 28, 2008 06:03 PM