The first 3D-printed drug has been approved by the FDA . The Food and Drug Administration just recently approved the Aprecia’s epilepsy-fighting Spritam. The prescription medication reportedly utilizes a “porous, 3D-printed formula” to give patients a high dose of the medicine while remaining easy to swallow.
The first 3D-printed drug looks like a regular pill and is taken with a drink of water, like traditional medication. Doctors will be able to begin prescribing the drug in early 2016. Supporters of the new pill format hope that the medication is well received and will aid children, the elderly, and other with swallowing problems consume their necessary prescriptions more easily.
Spritam uses the “ZipDose” technology, developed by Aprecia. The medication delivery system reportedly creates premeasured doses which disintegrate with just a small sip of liquid. Wedbush Securities analyst Tao Levy feels that 3D printing of medications could help pharmaceutical companies make pills “to the specifications of an individual patient rather than (take a) one-size-fits-all kind of approach,” according to a Reuters report.
3D printers are already being used by the healthcare industry to create replicas of teeth, jaws, dental implants, and hip replacements. In Britain, scientists have begun making “personalized replica models” of cancerous body parts to allow doctors to target tumors more effectively.
Food is even now available in 3D printed form.
“ 3D food printing offers a range of potential benefits. It can be healthy and good for the environment because it can help to convert alternative ingredients such as proteins from algae, beet leaves, or insects into tasty products,” according to the 3D printing website. “It also opens the door to food customization and therefore tune up with individual needs and preferences.”
The future of food: cultured meat, 3D-printed meals, GM crops, Soylent and seaweed – http://t.co/zoZBbyR5av pic.twitter.com/qRz0RiNCIO
— 3D Food Printing (@3dfoodprints) June 18, 2015
PepsiCo is creating new deep-ridged potato chips on 3D printers – http://t.co/1Ik40IIsMb pic.twitter.com/Y0lTMQo58s
— 3D Food Printing (@3dfoodprints) June 9, 2015
[Image via Shutterstock ]
