Recent Patents on Drug Delivery & Formulation - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2007

Immunotoxins and chimeric toxins are highly potent drugs designed for the treatment of cancer. Immunotoxins are composed of antibodies linked to a toxic substance. The antibodies enable the drug to bind specifically to distinct antigens on the tumor cell while the toxic moiety mediates cell death. Chimeric toxins are based on the same principle but contain other components for specific tumor cell targeting, e.g. cytokines or Read More

Vaccines remain a key tool in the defence against major diseases. However, in the development of vaccines a trade off between safety and efficacy is required with newer vaccines, based on sub-unit proteins and peptides, displaying improved safety profiles yet suffering from low efficacy. Adjuvants can be employed to improve their potency, but currently there are only a limited number of adjuvant systems licensed for clin Read More

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field based on the manipulation of matter on a submicron scale, encompassing matter between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm). The currently registered nanotechnology patents comprise 35 countries being involved in the global distribution of these patents. Close to 3000 patents were issued in the USA since 1996 with the term ‘nano’ in the patents, with a consid Read More

Rapid advances in drug discovery and development have spawned numerous innovative drug delivery approaches [1]. Although these efforts have primarily focused on optimizing the performance of drugs targeted for the current market, enhanced delivery of drugs may also result in the revitalization of marginally effective or failed formulations due to their original poor solubility. Plasma lipoproteins have long been consid Read More

The article critically discusses parenteral delivery of self-assembled lipid or amphiphile nanoparticles, in the form of aggregated clusters or particles (capsules). The end-product or drug form is for application by administration of the medicine active in encapsulated form. This is used for site-specific cell manipulation and clinical therapy and introduces this directly to the body via the systemic route. The technology discussed r Read More

Ophthalmic drug delivery has long been a challenging task for pharmaceutical scientists seeking to alleviate various ocular diseases affecting the anterior and posterior segments. In order to deliver therapeutic agents to target tissues, the unique anatomical barriers of the eye must be circumvented effectively, without causing any patient discomfort or alteration in protective physiological mechanisms. This challenge is Read More

Nanotechnology is the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through control of matter on the nanometer length scale, and exploitation of novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, electrical...) at that length scale. In the area of cosmetics and anti-aging, in particular, as well as in the pharmaceutical arena, nanotechnology has played an important role in deliverin Read More

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