Personalised and stratified medicine

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

The problem of giving drugs to patients who do not benefit from them is huge. Studies show that most drugs prescribed in the U.S. today are effective in fewer than 60% of treated patients.

Consider the percentages of patients for whom the following widely prescribed classes of drugs are, according to a recent study, either “ineffective” or “not completely effective”: at least 70% of patients who take the cardiovascular drugs known as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers; nearly 40% of the people prescribed antidepressants; and at least 30% of both the patients given statins for high cholesterol and those given beta2-agonists for asthma.

The number of diseases that can be precisely diagnosed and then treated with a highly specific therapy is certain to increase dramatically within the decade.

In the past five years, oncology drugs for patients with specific genetic characteristics have soared from about 10% to more than 40% of those in clinical trials (phases one, two, and three).

Although cancer diagnosis and therapy are at the forefront of progress in this area, similar developments are occurring in other medical subspecialties.

The Koru Approach

3D printing

Three dimensional (3D) printing as an advanced manufacturing technology is progressing to be established in the pharmaceutical industry to overcome the traditional manufacturing regime of ‘one size fits for all’.

The ability of 3D printing to produce medications to exact specifications tailored to the needs of individual patients has indicated the possibility of developing personalized medicines.

Koru is working on the technology that allows dosage forms to be precisely printed in various shapes, sizes and textures that are difficult to produce using traditional techniques.

Key platforms

 
  • Melt extrusion or nozzle based deposition system (Fused Deposition modelling)
  • Direct Powder Extrusion
  • Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Key potentials of 3D printing technology

  • Varying dosages
  • Good control over release profiles
  • Easy use of products with multiple APIs
  • Flexibility of designing shapes
  • Useful in printing in braille

The ability of 3D printing to produce medications to exact specifications tailored to the needs of individual patients has indicated the possibility of developing personalized medicines.