3D printing of paediatric medicines, FHNW School of Life Sciences

In children’s hospitals, personalised doses of the following medicines are in high demand: diuretics, glucocorticoids, antiepileptics, immunosuppressants, analgesics, sedatives, antihypertensives, and anti-ADHS agents. Correct dosage of these medicines requires customising adult formulations to the patient’s age, pathophysiology and weight and is largely done manually by hospital pharmacists.

To help hospitals deliver personalised medicine at the point-of-care, experts at the FHNW School of Life Sciences are working on an Innossuisse project to produce customised doses of common paediatric medicines using 3D printing. Specifically, they are turning to additive manufacturing to print 3-5 mm pills that have cavities and channels in them, designed for faster, easier dissolution. The pills are formed using a semi-solid formulations suitable for 3D printing; with each printed layer, the pill’s dosage can be increased.

The team’s goal is to validate formulations, printing process and parameters, ensuring they meet the regulatory requirements of European Pharmacopoeia. Production processes will be transferred to implementation partners Universitäts-Kinderspital beider Basel and the Lehenmatt Apotheke in Basel. The team is using the M3DIMAKER device and their work includes providing feedback to the manufacturer about successes and challenges encountered.

In the future, 3D printing of medicines may help alleviate market shortages in hospital and community settings, provide more precise options for producing custom doses, and usher in a paradigm shift for smaller scale, decentralised production to better serve society's needs.