An Overview Of Topical Drug Product Forms – Part 1

By Dr. David Barnes, founder, chief executive officer, and chief scientific officer, Velesco Pharmaceutical Services

There has been increased interest in the development of topical drug products as a way to deliver drugs locally, rather than systemically and for diseases that occur in the skin, mucosal surfaces, the eye, and/or wounds of these surfaces. There are reduced side effects and toxicity to other organs compared to systemic delivery. Topical drug products are typically formulated to enable the application of one or more drugs to one of four areas: the skin, mucosal surfaces, the eye, and wounds.

In this first part of a two-part blog article, we address the specific requirements of products formulated for dermal (skin) and mucosal application. Whilst the same principles of formulation science also apply to products for ophthalmic and wound care there are additional requirements (sterility, endotoxins) and will not be discussed in these blog articles.