Patient-Centric Dosage Forms: A Viable Solution To Non-Adherence

By Srinivasan Shanmugam, PhD, Senior Director, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Business Support and New Technologies, Adare Pharma Solutions

One of the biggest challenges facing pharmaceutical companies is patient acceptance and adherence to prescribed therapeutic dosing regimens; particularly special patient populations (paediatrics and geriatrics) and patients suffering from chronic and multi-morbid diseases. Beyond the burden imposed on the healthcare system (including patients and caregivers), non-adherence often undermines the safety and efficacy of the therapeutics, leading to poor therapeutic outcomes including increased morbidity and mortality. Consequently, addressing dosing regimen non-adherence is of paramount interest.

Therapy-related factors (eg, poor taste of the medication, frequent dosing, number of medications, and difficulty of application) and patient-related factors (eg, swallowing and motor impairment) can efficiently be addressed via patient-centric dosage forms. Better adherence can often result by considering therapy- and patient-related factors during the design and development of patient-centric dosage forms.

Unfortunately, the lack of patient-centric formulations tailored for specific population groups and/or specific disease conditions suggests a failure to properly weigh such factors during dosage form development.

Adare Pharma Solutions (Adare), a technology-driven company whose purpose is “to improve life for patients through technologically enhanced formulations,” understands the significance of patient-centric dosage forms and their role in improving acceptance and adherence.

To learn more about the options for patient-centric dosage forms, access the article.