Intranasal Drug Delivery Is a Wave of the Future

The growing trend among drug developers is having routes of administration that are patient-friendly and cost-effective. This trend will be helpful as the aging population and managed care initiatives drive growth in home health care and self-administration of drug therapies for chronic conditions. A recent survey conducted by Greystone Associates, a medical and health care technology consulting firm, found that intranasal administration is well positioned to take advantage of this trend and to develop a major role in the future of pharmaceutical development and commercialization.

"Drug developers and researchers are discovering that the accessibility and vascular structure of the nose make it an attractive route for delivering both small-molecule drugs and biologics, systemically as well as the across the blood-brain barrier to the CNS [central nervous system]," explained George Perros, Greystone managing director.

The findings released in the comprehensive report, "Intranasal Drug Delivery: Systemic Therapies and Markets," found that intranasal delivery will expand at the expense of the predominant drug-delivery methods (oral and parenteral). Those methods cannot be readily optimized for the delivery and dosing of a significant portion of the new biologically derived drug substances expected to enter clinical testing in the future.

Currently, almost 2 dozen companies are pursuing business strategies based in whole or in part on intranasal drug-delivery technologies. These companies are working to help define the prescription formulations that will have a major impact on the treatment of chronic conditions, neurologic disorders, viral diseases, and age-related problems in the future, the Greystone official reported.