FDA Approves Aprecia's Spitram, the First 3D Printed Prescription Drug

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first 3D printed prescription drug, a seizure medication from Aprecia Pharmaceuticals. The drug, Spitram, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2016.
Spitram is used to treat adults and children who suffer from certain types of seizures caused by epilepsy. The dissolvable tablet is created through a layered printing process.
According to Aprecia’s press release, Spitram is created using the company’s “proprietary ZipDose® Technology platform, a groundbreaking advance that uses three-dimensional printing (3DP) to produce a porous formulation that rapidly disintegrates with a sip of liquid.” The BBC reported that this technology allows layers of medication to be packaged more tightly in specific doses, reaching up to 1,000 milligrams per tablet. The company plans to develop more pharmaceuticals using this innovative 3D printing technology.

Step towards personalized healthcare

The FDA’s approval of Spitram ushers in a new era of pharmaceuticals production. The integration of 3D printing into the creation of pharmaceuticals has the potential to transform how drugs are produced, transported and administered to patients. Dr. Mohamed Albed Alhnan, a lecturer in pharmaceuticals at the University of Central Lancashire, told the BBC, “for the last 50 years we have manufactured tablets in factories and shipped them to hospitals and for the first time this process means we can produce tablets much closer to the patient.”
The ability to produce drugs close to patients is important because it gives healthcare providers more autonomy over medication dosages. Instead of the one-size-fits-all approach of mass-manufactured tablets, medical professionals have the ability to tailor drug dosages for individual patients with a simple tweak to printing software. That is part of a larger movement towards providing personalized medical solutions
As Dr. Marvin H. Rorick III, a neurologist at Riverhills Neuroscience in Cincinnati, Ohio, has explained, “in my experience, patients and caregivers often have difficulty following a treatment regimen. Whether they are dealing with a swallowing disorder or the daily struggle of getting a child to take his or her medication, adherence can be a challenge.”

Proven benefits in other industries

3D printing has already made strides towards making children’s healthcare more appropriate. As The Guardian states, 3D printing has been used to create customized implants for patients with rare conditions and injuries, including children for whom adult-sized medical devices are uncomfortable. This 3D printing innovation is important because, as MedCity News notes, pediatric devices are a risky, niche market.
All in all, it seems as though 3D printing has an important function in the healthcare industry as a whole, as it is able to bring personalized medical solutions to patients with relative ease. Be it children’s medical devices or tablets for seizures, 3D printing is a versatile solution to the problem of individual healthcare needs.
 
Securities Disclosure: I, Morag McGreevey, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Related reading: 
Why Consider Investing in 3D Printing Companies?
Why Should I Invest in Pharmaceuticals?
Long-term Outlook: Oppenheimer Analyst Holden Lewis on the Future of 3D Printing Investing