Technology Gains Renewing Interest in Needle Arrays as Drug Delivery Devices

Greystone Associates Analyzes Commercialization Factors, Therapeutic Sectors, and Market Drivers

(Amherst, NH) – Evolution in drug delivery device design is changing the way a growing number of therapeutic substances are administered. This trend is being fostered by the desire by patients for more user friendly methods for self-medicating, and by the need for safer, more reliable drug products that improve compliance. For drugs designed to be delivered across the skin, needle arrays are viewed as an approach that addresses these key healthcare objectives.

Needle arrays offer several advantages when compared to conventional needle technologies including being minimally invasive due to their small cross-sectional area, providing precise penetration depth under the skin, inducing minimal trauma during insertion due to the advanced tip designs, and increased functionality. Important needle array fabrication technologies include micromachining, microforming, LIGA, and structured films. Prominent needle array form factors include solid (coated and uncoated) needle arrays, hollow needle arrays, dissolving needle arrays, programmable needle arrays, and phase transition needle arrays.

Needle array technology is attaining commercial viability at a time when drug developers are faced with new challenges as they assess ways to administer a new class of compounds with significant therapeutic potential. The widespread availability of rapid throughput screening is accelerating the discovery of large-molecule therapeutic compounds that cannot tolerate passage through the digestive system, requiring pharmaceutical companies to forego oral formulations and select alternate routes of administration.

Detailed analysis of needle array drug delivery devices, therapeutic sectors, and participants are included in a comprehensive report. The report documents and analyzes the results of a recent survey of needle array devices for drug delivery conducted by Greystone Research Associates.
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