Drug Delivery Technologies: Targeted Delivery

Published Date: 26/06/2009
Category: Drug Delivery & Devices

Research Report Decription

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By 2018, over 30 new products will be launched resulting in a global market for advanced targeted delivery products worth over US$8.5 billion.Despite considerable advances in drug delivery technologies, there continues to be a high unmet clinical need for safer and better-tolerated drugs. Sub-optimal compliance and failure to persist with drug treatments are important determinants of therapeutic non-response and are of significant cost to healthcare providers. Advanced targeted drug delivery technologies will help to overcome some of these issues by improving pharmacokinetics, increasing tolerability and reducing dose-limiting off-target effects. The need for targeted delivery platforms is increasing as patients and drug regulators seek to meet these challenges.

Key Questions Answered:

Unique company & technology evaluation: It is vital that management information is reliable, current and insightful. Today, product and company assessment must be seen in a wider competitive and market environment.In this report we present a précis on each of the leading delivery specialists and potential new delivery platforms and have identified their key attributes, based on a number of criteria including:

• What proprietary delivery technologies are under evaluation?
• Which delivery technologies are being applied by the pharmaceutical industry?
• Who are the leading delivery specialists within the sector?
• What are the key competitors within the delivery technology sector?Which products are under development or approved utilising these novel delivery technologies?

Companies Mentioned:

AlphaRx Corporation, ALZA Corporation, Antares Pharma, Biovail Corporation, Camurus AB, Cerulean Pharma,  Cipher Pharmaceuticals, Debiopharm Group, DelSite Biotechnologies, Depomed, Durect Corporation, Elan Corporation, Elite Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals,  Ethypharm SA, Eurand N.V., Flamel Technologies,  Glycologic, KV Pharmaceuticals, Labopharm, Lavipharm SA, Nano Interface Technology, OctoPlus N.V., Penwest Pharmaceuticals, SCOLR Pharma, Shire, Skinvisible, SkyePharma, Spherics Pharmaceuticals, Watson Pharmaceuticals.

Paper Highlights:

Current and future applications: Whilst the majority of targeted delivery systems under evaluation incorporate passive carrier systems, there will be a shift towards the use of actively targeted carriers to increase the therapeutic index of existing and new products. There are significant opportunities for future commercial developments within the pharmaceutical industry. These include:

• Cost-effective production of antibodies and antibody fragments for drug targeting;
• Development of new polymers and biopolymers that may be utilised in the safe and efficient targeted delivery of drugs and pro-drugs into host cells;
• Development and selective targeting of macromolecules to improve intracellular uptake and tissue specificity
• Development of inactive pro-drugs for tissue specific release
• Extended product life-cycles through the development of targeted formulations
• Identification of new targeting ligands to improve the targeted delivery of small molecules and macromolecules
• Utilisation of multiple targeting ligands to address the needs of patient sub-typesCombined technology platforms to develop targeted therapeutics and diagnostics in a single molecule

A new generation of targeted delivery systems is under development to meet these needs which should provide greater control over the selective targeting of tissue, either with active moieties or inactive moieties which may be activated within the tissue by biological (enzymes), chemical (pH) or physical means (light, ultrasound) in order to release the active agent. The multitude of delivery platforms will lend themselves to the delivery of both small molecules and macromolecules and to a variety of target sites and delivery routes.

This report is part of a major new 4-volume strategic analysis: 

Drug Delivery Technologies: Players, Products & Prospects to 2018 Focusing on the sectors that are driving growth 

• VOLUME I: CONTROLLED- RELEASE
• VOLUME II: NANOTECHNOLOGY
• VOLUME III:NUCLEIC ACID DELIVERY
• VOLUME IV: TARGETED DELIVERY

We have established a competitor ratio analysis based on each of the criteria mentioned above. Each criterion attracts an award of up to 10 points, with a maximum score of 50, thus enabling the establishment of an Espicom “ranking table” in each segment of the market, dependent on their relative attributes.

Multi-point evaluation and scoring assessment: Pharma drugs that utilise drug delivery systems have been evaluated based on a number of parameters, including:

• The technology: Comparison of delivery platforms within each area including: activated, degradation or diffusion for controlled-release systems; nano-engineered (nanocrystals, nanoparticle, nanosuspension) or nanocarriers (carbon/ceramic, dendrimer, liposome, micelle, polymeric nanoparticles) for nano-enabled delivery; viral or non-viral platforms for nucleic acid delivery and active or passive platforms for targeted delivery systems
• The application of the technology within a number of therapy areas: Route of delivery (oral, parenteral, transdermal, implantable), delivery of small molecules/macromolecules and vaccines, additional features such as bioerodible materials etc
• The current status of the technology in clinical development or following approval: Number of approved and marketed products, clinical or preclinical development candidates, single or multiple products.
• Competition within the technology arena: Alternative drug delivery systems to technologies under evaluation, advantages and disadvantages over competitors.
• The drug delivery specialist’s expertise: Number of drug delivery systems in development, strategic alliances, financial position, marketing presence.
• The product portfolio: Drug delivery systems under evaluation, products in development, commercialisation/development partnerships.
• Potential drug sales: Based on key events such as market, competition, patent expiry, time of entry into the market.