If a drug can be formulated in an oral dosage form, then patient acceptance is likely to be much higher than if it has to be administered via injection. However, it can be difficult to create oral formulations for certain products, perhaps because the drug will be destroyed before it reaches the bloodstream or its target site, or because it is too insoluble. A high dose can also require very large tablets or capsules that are hard to swallow. Numerous creative formulations are already available that can overcome some of these issues, but it remains an area that is ripe for innovation.
Ohio-based Aprecia has been working in the field for more than a decade, and at the beginning of August, the FDA approved its lead product – the first ever dosage form to be created using 3D printing. The product is a formulation of the anti-epilepsy drug levetiracetam that will be marketed under the brand name Spritam. Levetiracetam is the active in UCB Pharma’s Keppra, which is now off patent, but the new formulation is designed to give extremely rapid dissolution and thus absorption of the high doses required.
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