Title:Beyond the Surface: The Role of Implantable Drug Delivery Systems in Modern Medicine
Volume: 19
Issue: 4
Author(s): Hammad War, Sumit Sharma*, Sanchit Dhankhar, Samrat Chauhan and Supriya Khanra
Affiliation:
- University Institute of Pharma Sciences, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Punjab, 140413, India
Keywords:
Implantable, drug delivery system, metabolism, enzymatic degradation, continuous drug release, bioavailability.
Abstract: Advanced drug delivery methods have emerged mainly because of the limitations of traditional
drug delivery systems like oral and intravenous routes, along with fluctuating concentrations
of drugs that have compromised therapeutic outcomes. An implantable drug delivery system
(IDDS) presents an attractive alternative: long-term, continuous drug release improves therapeutic
efficacy while minimizing toxicity and side effects. IDDS, first presented in the 1930s as subcutaneous
hormone pellets, have gained much attention recently in drug delivery due to their controlled
release of drugs in a localized and sustained manner. In systemic treatments, drugs administered
through IDDS evade first-pass metabolism and enzymatic degradation within the gastrointestinal
tract, therefore enhancing drug bioavailability. The most suitable properties of IDDS are its application
with drugs that have poor stability or solubility in oral formulations. Even though implantation
is invasive, the benefits of infrequent administration, higher patient compliance, and being able to
discontinue therapy when side effects are present far outweigh the disadvantages. Today, IDDSs are
used in a myriad of therapeutic areas: contraception, chemotherapy, and pain management, to name
a few. Future developments in such technologies, fine-tuning these systems further, will revolutionize
drug therapy by bringing even better and more patient-friendly drugs with both better efficacy
and sustained periods of effects.
