Big bucks in protein delivery devices
The rise in protein-based pharmaceuticals and the difficulties in achieving adequate absorption or distribution is the focus of a new report by consultancy firm Greystone Associates.
Greystone's report predicts a rise in combination products, where the drug and device are treated as a single product entity for the purposes of testing and regulation.
Products that fall into this category include pen injectors and dry powder inhalers. Such combination treatments are said to be growing at 14 per cent annually, with the market in 2008 believed to be worth $38bn.
For combination therapies to be effective Greystone believes that cooperation between device designers and drug developers will be required from an early stage in the products life.
Such cooperation would allow device designs to be tailored to the bioavailability targets and pharmacokinetic profiles of specific drug therapies.
The rise in combination therapies is the consequence of shortcomings in protein delivery via both oral and parenteral administration routes.
Oral delivery is restricted by enzymatic and penetration barriers and parenteral requires repeat administration owing to the therapeutics short half-life.
Animas insulin pump gains FDA approval
Animas Corporation has gained the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval for its OneTouch Ping Glucose Management.
This system consists of an insulin pump that wirelessly communicates with a blood glucose metre-remote, enabling the patient to calculate and deliver the required dose without touching the pump.
Juan Frias, chief medical officer at Animas, said: "OneTouch Ping provides patients the advanced insulin pump technology from Animas plus the OneTouch blood glucose technology they trust, put together into a system that offers the discretion, convenience and option of remote insulin dosing."
NanoInterventions to pursue block copolymers
NanoInterventions, a cardiovascular joint venture between Nanocopoeia and WORLDiscoveries, has signaled its intent to co-develop the biomedical uses of arborescent polyisobutylene-based block copolymers.
The developers intend to use Nanocopoeia's ElectroNanospray technology to apply nanoparticle-based coatings to an implant. The implant is then capable of generating films of nanoparticles consisting of therapeutics and polymers and controlling their delivery.
Judit Puskas, professor of polymer science at The University of Akron, said: "This polymer system has enormous flexibility in the way it can be applied, while remaining totally stable. That, together with the favourable biocompatibility profile of its building blocks, makes it an ideal interface with body tissues."
