12.02.20 -- How Nanotechnology Increases Drug Development Efficiency

A significant obstacle to the release of new medicines is the increasing complexity of drug molecules, which contributes to increased hydrophobicity and poorer water solubility. Technologies that can enhance drug solubility and bioavailability have great potential to improve efficiency within the drug development pipeline. Nanoparticle engineering — the process of shrinking down the size of drug particles — has emerged as a promising solution to this problem.

The low-hanging fruit of drug development — simple compounds — have mainly been used up, prompting companies to focus on more complex molecules. However, the vast majority of these exhibit solubility and bioavailability challenges, but nanoparticles below 100 nm could help.

There is a great need for innovative technologies that can improve the success rate for new drug candidates and pave the way for novel therapies to reach the market. Recent advances in nanoparticle engineering technology promise to accomplish precisely this.