The potential for additive manufacturing in pharmaceutical production
Emily Folk looks at the ways in which additive manufacturing could be implemented into pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
Additive manufacturing, which most of us refer to as “3D printing,” is poised to transform a wide range of industries, from clothing to construction. Interestingly, it may also have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry — and sooner than you might think. While the use of additive manufacturing is still minimal compared to other production methods, the market for 3D printing technologies is expected to grow to $30 billion by 2022.
The technology is still under active development by a variety of major corporations and startups, but additive manufacturing has enormous potential for pharmaceutical production. This technology has the potential to enable on-demand production and significantly reduce manufacturing costs, especially of single items and small batches of products.
Fabrication and personalisation of specialty drugs
With the right printing materials, it’s possible to 3D-print drugs. The sector has already discovered some potentially transformative applications and continues to explore further possibilities. Additive manufacturing makes it much more cost-effective to produce items in small batches, such as custom plastic or metal tools, toys or replacement parts. These same characteristics give 3D printing the potential to create bespoke medications based on individual patient physiology.
In other words, pharma companies will soon use additive manufacturing as a matter of course to print pharmaceuticals with unique and personalised dosages. You could even combine multiple drugs into a single dose. This could enable more personalised medicine in which doctors prescribe drugs with dosages customised to their patients’ needs, rather than hoping for the best with one-size-fits all medication regimens.
More complex drug-release profiles and reclaiming ‘orphan drugs’
Because it supports the creation of elaborate inner structures, 3D printing could make it easier to produce drugs with complex drug-release profiles. In turn, these more complex structures more effectively control the drug’s release in the body.
For example, you could use a 3D printer to print barriers between active pharmaceutical ingredients to enable the targeted, controlled release of multiple drugs. In addition to oral dosage forms, researchers have used additive manufacturing to create transdermal and topical drug delivery systems.
There’s also the matter of “orphan drugs,” which are pharmaceutical products left “on the shelf” because a profit-driven company decided there wasn’t enough money in pursuing it.
These drugs typically treat rare diseases. But because so few people need some of these drugs, companies could not recoup the costs of creating, testing, seeking approval from regulatory bodies, and ultimately bringing it to market. 3D printing could help to make these orphan drugs more widely available, thanks to the ability to produce more specialised drugs in smaller batches.
In other words, pharmaceutical companies may soon find it more economical to render aid a little less selectively to those in need.
Increased accessibility and other applications in medicine
Additive manufacturing also has the potential to improve accessibility for all drugs. It has the potential to lower production costs and make pharmaceuticals more accessible to people who live in remote locations. 3D printers can be located much closer to the end user than traditional manufacturing facilities, reducing costs and enabling faster access to pharmaceuticals.
3D printing is also impacting other areas of medicine and has the potential to transform them further. We can use additive manufacturing to print splints, prosthetics, implants and other medical devices. In addition, researchers can create 3D models of tumors they can use to improve their understanding of diseases and develop new treatments.
Researchers can even print living tissue, which could revolutionise regenerative medicine and enable the printing of replacement organs. This breakthrough will be of interest to anyone out there who’s watched a friend or loved one languish in poor health while waiting on a transplant list.
Additive manufacturing has the potential to transform many areas of the healthcare sector, including pharmaceutical production. It could enable more personalised medicine, more complex drug-release profiles and reduced costs. 3D printing is just starting to have an impact in the pharmaceuticals space, and its influence is sure to only expand in the coming years and reach greater numbers of patients.