This newsletter has the (somewhat loose) theme of Drug Delivery and deals with a number of topics that are, and will continue to be, of paramount importance to drugs of the future. As the onus of drug development shifts from small organic molecular approaches to a large molecule biotherapeutic entities, the means by which they can be delivered needs to adapt similarly. As a result, the articles included here deal with delivery of biopharmaceuticals via a difficult, but potentially rewarding pathway. One of the obvious trends to delivery of molecules (if judged by the number of proposals I receive) is that of nanotechnology, nanoparticles and their applications. Finally, we deal with some smart applications of drug delivery. I hope that you enjoy and are stimulated by these articles.
The first article, “Emerging trends in pulmonary delivery of biopharmaceuticals” by Shalvi Sinai Kunde, Ritushree Ghosh and Sarika Wairkar of Shobhaben Pratapbhai Patel School of Pharmacy & Technology Management, SVKMs NMIMS, Mumbai, India outlines the specific issues and pitfalls involved in the design and development of molecules intended for the treatment of lung disease. The article points out that pulmonary delivery of biopharmaceuticals is a niche area of the current pharmaceutical market holding immense scope for drug discovery and development. To combat the limitation-driven conventional treatments, pulmonary administration of biopharmaceuticals has navigated remarkable change in targeted drug delivery.
Following this, the article from: Yasmeen Shamiya, Shruthi Polla Ravi, Ali Coyle, Subrata Chakrabarti and Arghya Paul, of The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada entitled: “Engineering nanoparticle therapeutics for impaired wound healing in diabetes” focus on emerging nanotherapeutics capable of addressing the pathophysiology of chronic wounds in diabetes to better manage the impaired healing that current clinical treatments fail to address.
The final article in this month’s offering from Faiqa Nazir, Tanveer A. Tabish, Fatima Tariq, Shanza Iftikhar, Rijja Wasim, and Gul Shahnaz, entitled: “Stimuli-sensitive drug delivery systems for site-specific antibiotic release”. The article provides key insights into current challenges and future directions of exogenous and endogenous stimuli-sensitive targeted and on-demand release of therapeutic doses of antibiotics both cost-effectively and safely.
Steve Carney was born in Liverpool, England and studied Biochemistry at Liverpool University, obtaining a BSc.(Hons) and then read for a PhD on the Biochemistry and Pathology of Connective Tissue Diseases in Manchester University, in the Departments of Medical Biochemistry and Histopathology. On completion of his PhD, he moved to the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, London, where he worked with Professor Helen Muir FRS and Professor Tim Hardingham, on the biochemistry of experimental Osteoarthritis. He joined Eli Lilly and Co. and held a number of positions in Biology R&D, initially in the Connective Tissue Department, but latterly in the Neuroscience Department. He left Lilly to take up his present position as Managing Editor, Drug Discovery Today, at Elsevier. Currently, he also holds an honorary lectureship in Drug Discovery at the University of Surrey, UK. He has authored over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, written several book chapters and has held a number of patents.