Sunday, November 2, 2014

You'll be able to 3D-print prescription drugs on demand at home 'within a decade'

The Daily Mirror reports:
Thanks to the modern miracle that is 3D printing we could soon be printing out customised medicines on demand.

It might sound implausible to you but that’s because you’re not a pioneering researcher from the University of Central Lancashire.

The team there has developed a new technique that will allow a 3D printer to ‘print’ a tablet containing a quantity of medicine that can be taken by a patient...

The researchers believe that the 3D printing technique could dramatically cut the cost of manufacturing tablets as well as making life easier for patients who need to regularly change their doses of medicine.

"We have shown how 3D printing can be harnessed to improve medical care, providing low-cast, personally-tailored medicines for patients," explains Dr Mohamed Albed Alhnan from the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences.

“Eventually, we hope to see that units can be kept at home for patients who continuously need to change their daily dose.”

The researchers believe that the technique will be used by pharmaceutical firms and hospitals within five years and by the public within a decade.

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