A new portable gene therapy device could allow hospital pharmacies to create personalised medicines on demand, a new study says.<\/p>\n
Rare diseases affect more than 300 million people worldwide – 36 million in the EU alone – but they are often overlooked due to low patient numbers and the high costs associated with drug development.<\/p>\n
Most medicines are made in factories and shipped to hospitals, but for rare conditions there often aren’t enough patients for companies to justify developing medicines in bulk.<\/p>\n
But the NANOSPRESSO project could allow pharmacists to create medicines for them on demand, according to a paper published in Frontiers in Science.<\/p>\n
A pharmacist using the machine would put ingredients (such as genetic material and fats) into a small cartridge, which the device then mixes together in a very precise way. A tiny, targeted medicine can then be injected into the patient.<\/p>\n
Prof Raymond Schiffelers, who led the project, said there is an “urgent need” for a way to make personalised medicines in hospitals and on demand in an affordable way.<\/p>\n
“By shifting production to the point of care, NANOSPRESSO could help bring life-changing precision medicines within reach of patients.”<\/p>\n
However, NANOSPRESSO faces significant hurdles before it can be seen in a healthcare setting anytime soon.<\/p>\n
The medicines it creates will need to meet strict safety and quality standards, and regulators will need to decide how they will approve and monitor individualised treatments.<\/p>\n
Read more: “NANOSPRESSO could revolutionise the way we treat rare diseases by bringing personalised medicine to more patients, faster,” says study author Dr Mariona Estap\u00e9 Senti.<\/p>\n “The user-friendly, affordable device could let medics treat conditions that conventional approaches can’t manage.”<\/p>\n The study cites a historical precedent for pharmacies producing medicines – until the 20th century, pharmacists routinely prepared tailored medicines by hand.<\/p>\n
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