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Formulation and biopharmaceutical issues in the development of drug delivery systems for antiparasitic drugs

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Abstract.

The development of really new antiparasitic drugs to market level is a very rare event. A large number of lead structures have already been screened and discarded, the market is large but poor, and the administrative barriers are increasingly high and costly. Novel antiparasitics must not only be better, they must also be substantially safer than the existing repertoire. There are two major aspects to drug development. One is the strategy of pathogen-specific biochemical intervention, the other the strategy of optimal formulation and application. This review focuses on the latter. In finding and adapting innovative and "intelligent", i.e. parasite- and disease-specific formulations and delivery systems, established but deficient drugs might be optimised, enhancing their efficiency and reducing negative side effects at relatively low cost. Further, many promising new ideas are severely hampered by the low water solubility of the antiparasitic drug. Here as well, some of the innovative drug formulation and delivery systems discussed below might offer highly efficient, while technologically simple, solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Pharmazie, Pharmazeutische Technologie, Biopharmazie und Biotechnologie, Kelchstrasse 31, 12169 Berlin, Germany

    O. Kayser

  2. Schering Deutschland GmbH, Müllerstrasse 173, 13356 Berlin, Germany

    C. Olbrich

  3. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT, London, UK

    S. L. Croft

  4. Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany

    A. F. Kiderlen

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  1. O. Kayser
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  2. C. Olbrich
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  3. S. L. Croft
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  4. A. F. Kiderlen
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Correspondence to O. Kayser.

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Kayser, O., Olbrich, C., Croft, S.L. et al. Formulation and biopharmaceutical issues in the development of drug delivery systems for antiparasitic drugs. Parasitol Res 90 (Suppl 2), S63–S70 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-002-0769-2

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