According to data from Kalorama, the global market for transdermal patch drug delivery topped $7 billion in 2015. Patches are most familiar in the pain relief market and for the delivery of sex hormones, wherein the ability to provide a continuous low dose offers significant patient benefits.
Other marketed transdermal patch products include those that deliver nicotine as part of a smoking cessation programme, and products for hypertension and motion sickness. These formulations can also give improved patient compliance, thanks to the stick-it-on-and-forget-it potential of a patch.
There are other advantages. By delivering the active directly to the bloodstream, first-pass metabolism in the liver is avoided, potentially reducing the side-effects caused by metabolites created by liver enzymes. Avoiding the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract may be beneficial for acid-sensitive active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). For opiate analgesics, the potential for abuse is lower and, as a patch is far less appealing for addicts, it may reduce the amount of diversion of prescription opiates into the black market. Furthermore, it is easy to discontinue dosing by the simple action of removing the patch.
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