On Demand Pharmaceuticals Among the top 10 emerging technologies of 2021
In Rockville, Maryland, On Demand PharmaceuticalsTM was founded by Dr. Geoff Ling through DARPA and technology out of MIT to transform how medicines are made so they can be produced whenever and wherever medicines are needed.
Their breakthrough manufacturing technology platform, called the Pharmacy on Demand (PoD)TM, is based on a concept Dr. Ling first began thinking about as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army at a combat support hospital in Afghanistan. It allows medicines to be made in machines the size of a small refrigerator instead of a factory. Using a modular approach, the PoDTM can be quickly customized to produce anything from key starting materials, to active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), and final formulated drugs.
With the focus on global health issues around the world, we’re not surprised that the World Economic Forum sees On Demand Pharmaceuticals as one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2021. We’re excited to see how it continues to develop.
Making pharmaceuticals on demand
Medicines today are generally made in large batches, in a multi-step process with different parts dispersed in locations around the world. It can take months to complete the process, involving hundreds of tons of material, which creates some challenges in consistency and reliable supply. Advances in microfluidics and on-demand drug manufacturing now enable a small but increasing number of common pharmaceuticals to be made as needed.Also called continuous-flow manufacture, the process moves ingredients via tubes into small reaction chambers. The drugs can be made in portable machines in remote locations or field hospitals, with doses tailored to individual patients, a remaining challenge is reducing the high cost of this emerging technology.
Read the full article at: www.weforum.org
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