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3D-Printed Drugs for Children—Are We Ready Yet?

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  • Theme: Pediatric Drug Development and Dosage Form Design
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Abstract

The first medicine manufactured by three-dimensional (3D) printing was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The advantages of printing as a manufacturing route enabling more flexibility regarding the dose, and enlarging individual treatment options, have been demonstrated. There is a particular need for flexible drug delivery solutions when it comes to children. Printing as a new pharmaceutical manufacturing technology brings manufacturing closer to the patient and can easily be adjusted to the required dosing scheme, offering more flexibility for treatments. Printing of medicine may therefore become the manufacturing route of choice to provide tailored and potentially on-demand treatments for patients with individual needs. This paper intends to summarize and discuss the state of the art, the crucial aspects which should be taken into account, and the still-open questions, in order to make 3D printing a suitable manufacturing route for pediatric drugs.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Finnish Cultural Foundation (00161140) and the Academy of Finland ( 297293) for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Engineering, BioCity, Åbo Akademi University, Artillerigatan 6A, FI 20520, Turku, Finland

    Maren Preis & Heidi Öblom

Authors
  1. Maren Preis
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  2. Heidi Öblom
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maren Preis.

Additional information

Communicated by: Maren Preis and Jörg Breitkreutz

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Preis, M., Öblom, H. 3D-Printed Drugs for Children—Are We Ready Yet?. AAPS PharmSciTech 18, 303–308 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-016-0704-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-016-0704-y

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