Keeping The Patient At The Center Of Drug Delivery Devices

By Bill Welch, CTO, Phillips Medisize

By Bill Welch, CTO, Phillips Medisize

Healthcare is increasingly moving out of the hospital and into the home as self-administration of medications becomes more cost-effective. As the population ages and people live longer with chronic conditions, the need for safe and effective drug delivery devices will continue to increase.

However, developing the best delivery platform for your medication brings many challenges.  For one, there are physiological and chemical aspects to consider beginning in the early formulation stage of drug development that should be considered when thinking about the safest and best delivery for the patient.  So understanding the best method of administering the drug and how it will interact with the patient to improve lifestyle and condition are very important.  A second challenge is the differences in patient strength, body size, dexterity, education, literacy, state of health, lifestyle, gender, culture, and cognition, which all impact a patient’s ability to successfully use a drug delivery device.  A patient’s inability to correctly administer medication or, not take their medication at all, could result in potentially serious or life-threatening consequences.