Hospital pharmacists in Southampton will soon be able to ‘print’ medicines for research that are best suited for each patient.
Every person is different, yet most medicines are produced in a ‘one size fits all’ standardised way.
Now, pharmacy researchers at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) have been awarded funding for a new 3D printer for medicines.
This will allow them to print medicines tailored for specific patients. For example, children will be given medicines at exactly the right dose for them.
The cutting-edge machine has been awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The bid was jointly led by UHS’s Dr Andy Fox and Dr Orestis Katsamenis from the University of Southampton.
Improving patient safety
Currently, there are limited options for drugs designed for children and older people.
For children, this means pills often have to be manually cut in half. This is inaccurate and may cause side effects. They can also taste bitter or look unappealing to a child.
Older people, on the other hand, may have difficulty swallowing large pills.
Tailoring treatment
With the new 3D printer, pharmacy researchers will be able to create specially designed medicines. This will not change the medicine itself, but will allow them to alter the look, feel, taste or dose to suit the patient.
For a child, this could mean they print a low-dose, shaped pill with a range of flavours. This would appeal more to a child, meaning they would be more likely to take their medicine as prescribed.
The 3D printer could also be used to change the texture of the medicine. For example, a softer, quick-dissolving pill could be made for an older person who has trouble swallowing.
Advancing our research
Located within the pharmacy at Southampton General Hospital, the new technology will be used for research.
It will support projects within the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and Institute for Life Sciences, as well as other parts of the university-hospital partnership.
Dr Fox is Consultant Pharmacist for Medicine Safety. His research is supported by a UHS Research Leaders Programme (RLP) award.
He said: “Introducing a 3D printing platform for the production of personalised dosage forms at our pharmacy positions Southampton as pioneers in this field.
“It opens the door to ground-breaking clinical trials that assess the transformative impact of this technology on patient compliance with treatment.”
One trial the research team intend to use it for will investigate how to make better antibiotic formulations for children. They could, for example, use flavourings to mask the bitter taste of clarithromycin, which often means children struggle to take it.
A second trial will focus on 3D printing medicines tailored for older patients with dementia and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). It will focus on three frequently used drugs - Donepezil, Galantamine, and Memantine.
‘Patient-friendly delivery’
Dr Katsamenis is the Biomedical Imaging and X-ray Histology Lead at the University of Southampton’s μ-VIS X-ray Imaging Centre. He runs the 3D x-ray histology facility at UHS.
He said: “These trials go beyond conventional approaches, by evaluating the effectiveness of customised drug doses, sizes, shapes, and flavours of dosage forms.
“This will ensure precise dosage administration and patient-friendly delivery, which enhances medication adherence, especially among children and older people.”
The 3D printer is one of several items funded by an NIHR Capital Funding Call. These include a red blood cell analysis platform, equipment for endoscopy and paediatric audiology, and a retinal camera. This new equipment will support further advances in research.