Nanotechnology is revolutionising drug delivery, says Cientifica

Nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems (DDS) are dramatically reshaping the way existing drugs are delivered, establishing new opportunities for drug formulation and creating a host of new DDS companies resulting in the opening of a whole new era in the treatment of diseases, according to a recently release White Paper from Cientifica, a leading independent supplier of nanotechnology research and technology information.

A new value paradigm has taken place in the drug delivery market, in which pharma companies" existing compounds have new value, the company says in "The Nanotech Revolution in Drug Delivery".

"At present, several hundred billion dollars worth of existing compounds that cannot be delivered properly are sitting in IP vaults unused," explained Hailing Yu, research director for Cientifica and principal author of the report. "The industry is keen to unlock and exploit this valuable intellectual property, and using nanotechnology to create new chemical entities via reformulation gives them the key."

Cientifica estimates that nano-enabled DDS already represents a market worth US$3.39bn, and a scramble by both large pharmaceutical companies and drug delivery start-ups to grab a piece of a market could increase this to $26bn by 2012, representing a compound annual growth rate of 37% over the next five years.

"After that, the market is poised to explode, with the fruits of today's research and development in both drug delivery systems and nanomaterials feeding through to create a market worth $220bn by 2015," said Cientifica ceo Tim Harper.

The revolutionary impact of nano-enabled DDS also offers a range of delivery options for compounds that are either poorly soluble or those that may harm healthy tissue.