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San Jose, Calif.--December 4, 2002-- While new biotech drugs are touted as the next medical revolution, it's proving to be extremely difficult to get some of them into the body--and to get them to behave properly once they're in. Packaging and delivering proteins and other large molecules is a major hurdle.
"Long a minor concern for pharmaceutical companies, drug delivery is now one very hot topic," says Technical Insights Analyst Katherine Austin. "The pharmaceutical industry is realizing that not only can improved technology deliver particular drugs more effectively or conveniently, it can also extend the life cycle of these products as they lose their coveted patent protection."
Many new technologies are being developed to target drugs directly to where they are needed in the body. These include the attachment of targeting molecules, such as monoclonal antibodies and receptor ligands, to carriers such as liposomes, polymer particles, and nanospheres. A number of labs are even learning how to use soccer-ball-shaped fullerene molecules or algae skeletons as cages to carry and control the release of drugs.
The delivery of cancer drugs is one application for which targeted delivery may prove especially valuable. Because anti-cancer drugs tend to be highly toxic to healthy cells as well as malignant ones, researchers and patients alike hope that it will become easier to target these drugs directly to the tumor, sparing healthy tissues.
New analysis by Technical Insights, a business unit of Frost & Sullivan (www.Technical-Insights.frost.com), Drug Delivery, reveals that over 300 companies are currently developing various avenues of drug delivery. Emerging technologies ranging from medicated powders pumped into the skin at supersonic speeds, to implanted microchips that deliver precise dosages, to nano-molecular transportation systems are growing prospects for drug delivery.
Technical Insights will hold a conference call at 3:00 p.m. (EST)/ 12:00 p.m. (PST) on December 4, 2002 to provide a summary and analysis of the latest developments in drug delivery. Those interested in participating in the call should send an email to Julia Rowell at jrowell@frost.com with the following information for registration:
Full name, Company Name, Title, Contact Tel Number, Contact Fax Number, Email. Upon receipt of the above information, a confirmation/pass code for the live briefing will be emailed to you.
Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in strategic market consulting and training. Acquired by Frost & Sullivan, Technical Insights is an international technology analysis business that produces a variety of technical news alerts, newsletters, and reports. Ongoing analysis on Drug Delivery is covered in Industrial Bioprocessing Alert, a Technical Insights subscription service, and in Biopolymers and Biocompatible Materials, Frost & Sullivan Technical Insights technology reports. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.
Drug Delivery
Report: D243
Contact:
USA
Julia Rowell
P: 210.247.3870
F: 210.348.1003
E: jrowell@frost.com
APAC:
Pramila Gurtoo
DID : (603) 6204 5811
Gen : (603) 6204 5800
Fax : (603) 6201 7402
E: pgurtoo@frost.com
www.frost.com
www.Technical-Insights.frost.com