Electronic drug delivery systems: An overview

Patient compliance is an important consideration in designing drug delivery systems which is also driving the advances and innovations in drug delivery. A report by BCC Research, a US - based market research firm, estimates that the global market for advanced drug delivery technologies is poised to grow to approximately $227 billion by 2020. Amongst the various drug delivery technologies, electronic drug delivery systems (EDDS) represents an exciting trend in the development of drug delivery systems that are portable, interactive, wirelessly connected and allow patient-administered therapy reducing overall healthcare cost. Insulin pump is the most commonly used EDDS and captures the largest share of the global EDDS market. The improvement of patient adherence when using prescribed medication is one of the driving force in the development of EDDS. Furthermore, EDDS have shown the potential to provide targeted drug delivery to particular sites in the body. Although various drug delivery devices are available in the market, this review focuses on electronic drug delivery devices. The advantages and disadvantages associated with these devices as well as future perspectives of the EDDS are also discussed.

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