Innovations in the pharmaceutical market

The breakthroughs in medicine are related, among others, to the development of new drugs. They make the previously incurable diseases curable, and the deadly ones become chronic diseases. A given drug may be considered an innovation in the pharmaceutical market if it responds to unmet or inadequately satisfied health needs in a different way than before. We are talking about a breakthrough in medicine if an innovative drug responds to a significant unmet health need and provides high efficacy compared to existing treatments.

Awarded pharmaceutical companies

Over the years, GSK Commercial has been working on a medicine supporting the treatment of HIV infections. The new therapy developed by this company is based on a two-drug regimen (so far patients with HIV have used multi-drug, triple-drug therapies), it is a real revolution. Dovato was presented in October 2020. This is what GSK Commercial was awarded with the Innovator award.

Bristol Myers Squibb has developed Luspatercept for people with chronic bone marrow cancers. These people need blood transfusions and can avoid transfusions by taking Luspatercept. Instead of visiting the hospital, patients with myelodysplastic syndromes receive an injection and do not need a blood transfusion. In this way, the drug „doubles life” – blood that is not used in transfusions can be used to help other patients.

Nanomedicine

In simple words, nanomedicine is nanotechnology for medical and pharmacological applications. This sector is becoming more and more popular among private enterprises and public institutions. For example, the European Union, in addition to co-financing numerous projects in the area, has also launched a technology platform targeting nanomedicine companies and institutions.

Modern medicine commonly uses antibiotics, which causes the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Advances in nanotechnology have given rise to alternative antibacterial agents, such as silver, gold, and copper nanoparticles, which appear to be free from the disadvantages of traditional antibiotics. What’s more, thanks to nanoparticles, the drug is less invasive and less burdensome for the body, and the dose can be selected precisely for a given patient.

Modern forms of taking medications

Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is looking for new forms of taking active substances in order to meet the need for precise dosing, modifying the rate of API release and delivering the drug to the target place. Commonly known drug forms such as tablets, capsules or pellets are no longer the only forms of drug intake.

Lollipops as a carrier for a strong pain reliever were used in the case of Actiq containing fentanyl citrate – a substance from the group of opioids for relieving severe pain. The lollipop is placed between the cheek and gum so that as much of the API as possible enters the mucosa and then into the bloodstream.

Minitablets are taken in the standard way by direct tableting or by dry or wet granulation. It is distinguished by its size. The minitablet is usually not bigger than 2-3 millimeters. It is particularly useful among patients who have difficulty swallowing. The minitablets also have an advantage for the manufacturer – it is not necessary to manufacture different doses of the drug. The minitablet is a single dose and therefore the patient takes as many minitablets as individually prescribed.

Organogel is a non-crystalline system in which an organic liquid – for example vegetable oil, mineral oil or gelled organic solvent – is a suitably selected substance. The greatest advantage of organogel is its thermoreversibility. This means that the thermogel is in a solid form, and after taking it by the patient, it changes into a semi-liquid form, thanks to which it is possible to obtain the desired adhesiveness, biocompatibility, solubility, or release of the active substance.

Nanocarriers are more easily accepted by cells than large molecules, so they can be successfully used in targeted therapies in the area of already known bioactive ingredients. The most widely used and tested nanotransmitters include liposomes, dendrimers, nanoparticles based on solid fats and polymers.