Manufacturing technology
3D printing could transform the drug delivery industry, with 3D-printed pills and customised drug-eluting implants possibly becoming the norm one day.
In March 2021, a research group outlined a new approach for bone regeneration – 3D-printed bone scaffolds impregnated with antibiotics. This would mitigate the risk of bone infection following an open fracture or surgery, and would eliminate the need for intravenous antibiotics. According to study author Lorenzo Moroni of Maastricht University, “3D-printed polymeric scaffolds possess several unique properties for bone regeneration: their shape can be tailored to fit the specific patient’s anatomy, they are porous to allow cell infiltration, but at the same time mechanically strong, and they can degrade over time to make space for the newly-formed bone.”
“The FDA approval of the fi rst 3D-printed drug showed pharmaceutical companies the industrial feasibility of this technique, paving the way for the printing of more oral tablets.”
He added that incorporating antibiotics into the scaffolds is not straightforward, since the 3D printing process involves high temperatures, and antibiotics are heat-sensitive. However, the team was able to safeguard the antibiotics by covering them with lamellar inorganic protectors. This had the added benefit of ensuring controlled drug release. Fouladian points out that 3D printing is a valuable tool for the pharmaceutical sector in general, enabling personalised medicine focused on the patients’ needs. “The FDA approval of the first 3D-printed drug showed pharmaceutical companies the industrial feasibility of this technique, paving the way for the printing of more oral tablets,” she says. “We also hope to see huge progress in 3D-printed localised drug delivery systems, specifically drug-loaded medical devices and implants.”
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Fouladian herself has been working on a world-first stent for patients with inoperable oesophageal cancer, which contains chemotherapy drugs within its matrix. As she explains, patients with this form of cancer often struggle with dysphagia (problems swallowing food and drink) because of tumour cells blocking the windpipe. Introducing a stent can relieve symptoms over the short term – and in fact is the most effective palliative treatment for these patients. Unfortunately, the stent itself can end up blocked by cancer cells, compounding the problem. “Studies have shown that continued stent usage presents complications including tumour ingrowth, recurrence of strictures, reflux disease and perforation, which can limit the long-term success of stents,” she says. “Therefore, several attempts have been made to develop drug-eluting stents as an effective choice for the treatment of occlusion or stenosis of the body’s tubular structures.” In their in vitro studies, the team loaded a 3D printed, polyurethane stent with a chemotherapy drug, 5-FU. The stent released this drug steadily over a period of 110 days. Should it prove viable in the human body, the device would be able to deliver the drug directly to the tumour site, stopping the cancer from growing while reducing systemic side effects. More research is needed, starting out with animal studies and eventually moving into clinical trials. Questions remain around the dose of drug required, the mechanical properties of the stent, and whether it needs new folding and deployment mechanisms. However, Fouladian is hopeful about its prospects. “Our study demonstrated that 3D printing is a powerful tool for manufacturing drug eluting stents, which could easily be customised to provide personalised, patient specific geometries and drug doses in patients with oesophageal cancer,” she says. On a similar note, a team of researchers from China is working on 3D implants loaded with anticancer drugs for the treatment of osteosarcoma. They designed implants made from poly L-lactic acid, noting that the material was biodegradable with high biocompatibility and biosafety. Like the oesophageal stent, this drug administration system serves as a form of local chemotherapy, and directly acts on the tumour site. It aims to achieve sustained release of topical drugs, and prolonged duration of drug action. While most of the work in this field is in its early stages, and does not yet have a clear path to the clinic, momentum is starting to build. 3D printing could prove transformative for drug delivery, with a host of new applications just around the corner. Personalised 3D-printed tablets, along with customised drug-eluting implants, could one day be the norm in medical care. ●
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
New Africa/
Shutterstock.com
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