Finnish healthtech company CurifyLabs is launching pharmaceutical inks for 3D printable medicines, offering a novel solution for the production of patient-specific and personalized medicines in pharmacies and hospitals.
As genetic differences, age, gender, allergies and many other factors can affect an individual’s response to medications, the demand for customized medicine is steadily increasing. Standardized medications are often too low or too high a dose for large segments of the population, such as women and children, and can even be risky. A European Commission report shows that over 50% of medicines are currently not approved for children.
“There is a significant need for scalable and practical methods to produce customized drugs that precisely match a patient’s needs. We are thrilled to introduce the world’s first Pharma Ink for 3D printing of drugs and offer a solution for producing personalized medicines in pharmacies and hospitals efficiently and safely. This enables wider drug availability and better care for people with various medical conditions, particularly those in vulnerable situations where personalized treatment is the only option,” says Charlotta Topelius, CEO and co-founder of CurifyLabs.
Traditionally, personalized medicines are prepared manually in pharmacies, with pharmacists measuring and mixing various ingredients. However, this manual approach can be time-consuming and cause errors. CurifyLabs’ Pharma Kit revolutionizes this process. With a range of 3D printable pharmaceutical inks, pharmacists can print a variety of medicines quickly and in compliance with regulatory requirements.
“Pharmacy-tailored drug manufacturing is very laborious and involves manual work steps. We have been waiting for this type of technology”, says Catharina Kern, Pharmacist, at Münster University Hospital.
Niklas Sandler, CTO and Founder comments:“Pharmaceutical 3D printing automates the time-consuming manual compounding process, enabling pharmacists to efficiently produce custom medications while maintaining high manufacturing standards. The quality of all drugs produced are verified with in-process quality control tools with our solution. Our technology can save up to 70% of the time compared to manual methods.”
“We’re happy to collaborate with CurifyLabs on this world premiere of printable pharmaceutical inks”, says Kathrin Bartscher, Chief Scientific Officer at NextPharma.
The market for compounding drugs is growing rapidly. It is estimated that this market could be worth $18.2 billion by 2030. With its 3D printing solutions, CurifyLabs aims to lay the foundation for a healthcare system that offers customized medicines, increased patient safety and time savings for pharmacists.
“With our 3D printing solutions, we aim to reshape the landscape of pharmacy-tailored medicines in hospital and compounding pharmacies. Our goal is to build foundations for a healthcare system that delivers not only customized medications but also greater convenience, enhanced patient safety, and time savings for pharmacists”, Topelius concludes.
Overall, CurifyLabs’ initiative demonstrates that the marriage of 3D printing technology and pharmacy can offer significant benefits for personalized medicine. It remains to be seen how this approach will develop in the coming years.
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